The Earthbender: Futile Existance
by Anoira
Summary: Set less than a year after the 41st division is sent out as a distraction to the Earth Kingdom. Commander Zhao uses his influence over the remainder of the angered troops to plot the assassination of the Fire Lord, using the Fire Nations' constant rival
1. Shadowland

**A/N - First shot at a fanfic written novel style. PLEASE don't eat me. That's just cannibalism and that's kind of nasty.**

It was dark. The leaves had fallen from the trees long before winter had even begun to place is frozen grip upon the land. It was a desolate, horrible place. The ground was cracked and bare. Water had ceased to flow. The sky was a black blanket that would never be broken by the light of stars. The wind that carried through the dark skeletons of trees smelled always of smoke.

It was the firebenders. They had destroyed it all. They had destroyed everything vital to the small earth village. They had dried the rivers, killing the herbs; killing the trees; slowly killing the people. It wasn't as though the town had ever been a thriving port city, or a great town. The town was in itself a very simple existence, at least that's the way it had been a hundred years ago. And slowly, so slowly, the village had given over to the Fire Nation.

Now, Fire Nation soldiers camped everywhere. They took whatever it was they wanted from the small Earth Kingdom village - food, water, men, women, supplies, weapons. It was all fair game. After all, the Fire Nation had conquered and the Earth Kingdom had been conquered. There wasn't enough left in the village for the local inhabitants to survive on, not to mention the Army that made so many frequent pit-stops for food and shelter.

Those inhabiting the village, now referred to it as the shadowland, were not quite sure who it was that owned the land anymore. They thought it was the Earth Kingdom. But it could just as easily been the Fire Nation. The huts were made from the earth, their roofs made of the dying wood, the doors swung on delicate hinges. Earth surrounded the inhabitants, but flying in place of the green flags were bright red and gold banners. To every sense, it was the earth kingdom, but it was those flags that brought to realization whose village it truly was.

And that's how it went, for a hundred years after the disappearance of the Avatar. The world's only hope had disappeared. And the village had lost hope. Without hope, there is no life, and unless hope is rekindled life does not end, it merely ceases to be more than a futile struggle for existence. Most of the villagers had forgotten their hope, and merely existed with the tyranny of the Fire Nation.

Yet, some of the Earthbenders in this small village had not given up their hope, they had taken to leaving for un announced periods of time, and training. They trained hard, and then came back with as much food as they could. They never wanted to raise suspicions of the Firebenders. Their suspicions had been raised once, and the poor boy who'd caused the suspicion was never seen again. At least, he was never seen again alive. The next time he was seen, it looked as though he'd been set on a funeral pyre, and then removed before he'd finished burning.

The fire nation could make good on their threats. And one threat was enough to conceal them all to secrecy. The hand once bitten is twice shy, and the village had been bitten more than once.

That's how it all began.

That was how Kaia, a bony girl from the Earth Kingdom came to be running for her life through the burning so called forests surrounding her shadowland. Her bare feet pounded the cracked ground, never protesting as the exposed roots reached up and tore at her flesh. It was the great struggle of her young life: stay alive. She had no advantage against the monsters behind her. She knew the land as well as they did, she was tired, she was bony, and she had no idea where the Fire Nation's Army was camped.

She only knew one thing - she could not go to the Refuge. That was the one thought recirculating in her brown haired head. Do not go to the Refuge. It was the one place she could be safe, but the Fire Nation soldiers were too close behind her. To go there would mean that the soldiers would know where the others would go to practice. Some of the others might even be hiding there now.

How far had she gone? Her chest was beginning to tighten. She could hardly breathe. "Keep breathing.." she reminded herself in a soft rhasp. Her dark hair slowly came loose from the tight knot on the back of her head. She reached up and pulled out the small leather string that held her hair up, letting it fall to the ground behind her. She focused only on running, on keeping her legs moving, on keeping her chest rising with breath.

Then she heard it, singing not very far behind her, the soft stinging cry of arrows. She heard them hit the ground far behind her. She heard the wood splinter against the hard ground. She could hear the sharp thud as the arrows pierced the dead hollow trees. She ran faster, her bleeding feet slipping more and more on the cracked ground as she scrambled up the hill.

The arrows shot overhead, singing their deadly song, "Kaia.." Soon, the arrows lit the sky. The flames of the fire arrows stood out in sharp contrast against the black sky. They stopped aiming for her. They were aiming ahead of her.

The dead woods crackled as the arrows struck the trees, flames lifted from the trees, reaching towards the heavens like demons in a hellish dance. A wall of flame rose before her. She turned, the woods burned, ravaged by the fires. She felt her face illuminate, her cold body welcomed the heat, but her eyes burned. Her eyes watered, squinting against the light and the intense heat.

The smell of burning wood filled her nostrils. She stopped running and looked up at the wall of flames surrounding her, it was a cage. The soldiers who had chased her had been benders. She turned to face them, if she was to die now she would die like a warrior.

She spread her legs, sinking into the attacking stance. There was earth all around her, in this one way were they evenly matched. She closed her eyes, her brow creasing in intense concentration. Time, she needed time. How much time did she have? The singing arrows interrupted her thoughts. Not enough time. She clenched her fists sharply and felt the earth mold to her will. Her eyes opened and she let out a yell, she brought up a wall of dirt in front of her, enough to block their arrows.

Kaia was no master, but she was no novice. She pushed, and the wall of dirt fell forward. All she could do was hold them off. Keep them away from her for just long enough. Long enough for what? It didn't matter. Just long enough.

She pounded the ground with her feet, and kicked a piece of the torn earth through the air towards the assaulting soldiers. But the soldiers fought back. The earth would only take so much heat. She brought up another wall in front of her as the soldiers started bending again. The earth was breaking, and so was Kaia. The fires grew around her. Her skin began to leak water, sweat trickled down her face.

They fought with intensity. Her practice had only been against other Earthbenders, never against firebenders. There was no time to learn like the present. She threw up walls, shoved the earth to meet their fire, and sent sharp earthen missiles. She may have injured one or two of them, but they were practiced soldiers and she was a weak learner. As they continued, her blocks became weaker, her attacks were less focused, and the soldiers had not weakened.

She had to make one more try. One last effort. One last trick. She had one hope. She crossed her wrists and brought up a last wall of earth. The earth would take the heat of their attacks, and then she waited. When the moment was right, she threw the burning wall of earth, casting it out at the men. She quickly followed in the opening her attack had created for her. She would run back from whence she'd come.

But her trick bought her a few seconds at the most. One of the brighter, slightly more intelligent of the firebenders tackled her as she ran by. Kaia fell to the ground, the soldier's arms bound her own to her body, his large body crushed her own against the ground. Her head hit the ground with a dull thud, she fought briefly for consciousness, but it was a futile struggle. She pushed against the man atop her, but she was too weak. Her body was tired. She breathed in, the smell of dead earth filled her senses, and closed her eyes. Kaia had given up. She couldn't fight anymore now.

She was only vaguely aware of the man's weight lifting off of her as darkness crept in around the edges of her vision. Without hope, there is no life, and unless hope is rekindled life does not end, it merely ceases to be more than a futile struggle for existence.


	2. Endless Night

Endless Night

Hours later, Kaia's eyes shot open, wide and terrified. Where was she? She was shivering; the cold air was thick with smoke and dark. She forced her body to sit. Her light frame felt heavier than it usually did. She lifted her body from the ground, and took in her surroundings. She was in a room, the room was completely metal. The only earth was perhaps that which still smudged her face. Before her, a large metal door with a small barred window near the top. Behind her, a slab of metal- something she presumed was supposed to be a bed.

She knew where she was. She was in a Fire Nation prison cell. Just where the cell was, was another matter entirely. It couldn't have been too far from where she'd fallen, could it? A few miles maybe. How far had those soldiers dragged her unconscious body? Well, however far it had been, they certainly hadn't been all too gentle about it. She looked her body over, taking stock of her injuries. Her spindly arms were covered with bruises and cuts, there were a few scars, but they were old. Her plain clothes shirt was ripped just below her ribs, but nothing more than a scratch where a tree had cut her. She was surprised to find that none of her bones were broken, and that her burns were minimal.

The shackles on her wrists did very little to inhibit her movement, they were heavy though. They must not have thought her to be too much of a threat. She stretched her body, and found that movement was painful. Her muscles ached, her head hurt, and she was cold. What little light came through the window was torch light.

"It's still night." She commented to herself.

The chains around her wrists clinked as she walked over to the metal cot. She'd never felt colder, more miserable, or more alone in her very short life. She sat on the edge of the cot and brought her body around her and stared out the small barred window across from her. No stars, no rain, just that thick black smoke. Her thoughts were of nothing other than the others. Had they gotten away? It was her only thought. Her only comfort was perhaps they had. Maybe the firebenders had given up on them. The others were faster than she was, and they certainly would have gotten to the refuge or somewhere else.

A voice interrupted her thoughts, "Earthbender." a harsh masculine voice came through the metal door as plainly as he'd been standing beside her, "Wake up." it wasn't a suggestion.

She licked her dry lips, her tongue not adding alot of moisture to her parched mouth, "I'm awake." she managed a strong tone. Her own voice was rather husky, and deep. Deeper than it should have been, but she blamed the smoke.

"Stand up." the returning voice was harsh, "I am unlocking the door."

Kaia's dark eyes lit, if the voice was unlocking the door then she'd have another chance.

This voice didn't seem the kind that would state the obvious, like 'No tricks' or 'Now don't try to escape'. Her mouth twitched into a smirk, but as the door opened she placed her features back into the demur, scared little girl that the man would be expecting. She had to hold her features for just long enough, and then she would have him exactly where she wanted him.

The man was wearing the traditional Fire Nation uniform, she never payed attention to their faces especially if she had designs on ending their life- which is what she had now. The thought had spawned itself in her mind, all she needed was to walk on dry land. The man's frame filled almost the entire door, but she could see that this door led to the outside. She would touch the ground, and she would have it.

She walked towards him, careful to keep her head down and avert her eyes. She played the part of a child in trouble, not a bender plotting her escape.

The man stood aside as she climbed down from the jail-cell-on-wheels to the earth beneath her feet. Her fingers tingled at this chance, but patience was an Earth Kingdom virtue. She knew when to spring the trap. He was her only guard, and that made her plan perfect. Absolutely perfect.

He stepped out of the carriage and turned to shut the door, and that was when she started. She had been meditating, her thoughts gathered on one thing. Before he'd turned around Kaia had lifted a boulder sized lump of earth from the ground and was holding it well above his head.

He must have heard the noise, because he turned and assumed his stance, "Put it down, girl." he commanded softly. There was nothing gentle about his soft tone. It was a threat.

"If you do not release me now, I will." she said equally as soft. Her eyes shone with a dark, dangerous glimmer.

The soldier spared a glance immediately above his own head and laughed, a short, derisive laugh. "That would be a threat," he smirked, "if I had something to worry about." he drew his leg back, he was not afraid to attack her.

Kaia didn't move, the strain of holding the boulder was more than her un healed frame could take, but she would not let him know that. She cast her eyes once up, and saw what the man meant. She had lifted it, but she had not moved the earth. It was just hanging in the air directly above where she'd lifted the earth from. He would lose nothing if she dropped it, no matter how hard she dropped it.

"I'm counting." was all he said. "One." his stance deepened. "Two." his body began to glow with flame. "Three."

Their bodies moved at the same time. Kaia brought the boulder down, the soldier lashed out his flames. Kaia was thrown back by the force and the heat, the soldier had merely jumped out of the way. Kaia burned, she rolled in the dust, putting out the flame on her clothes.

The soldier stood over her shaking body, his sword was out, placed strategically enough to cause Kaia problems. "Now. Let's have no more mishaps."

Kaia swallowed, she looked up into the soldier's hard face and met his eyes, the cold metal of his sword tickled her chin. She stretched her neck farther back, exposing her throat more to him, but moving away from the tip of the tear drop sword. "Why delay?" she said softly, "Just kill me now, and save your superiors some time." She looked up and met his eyes, his cold amber eyes, he didn't have to say anything, but she could read his face.

"Get up." He commanded, tapping her shoulder with the flat of the blade.

Kaia stood, her body hardly any worse for coming in contact with the fire. She had been scorched, but nothing horrible or disfiguring. She brought herself up to her fullest height and set her shoulders, she was no longer playing a part. She was what she was, an earthbender going for her final judgment. The back of her mind wondered what these men would have in store for her. Public execution? Her head on a pike, maybe? It might even be target practice for the soldiers for all she knew.

She drew steady breaths as she was lead through the hasty camp. Hundreds of four man tents set up in perfect squares, watch fires every fifty feet; she knew that they had made progress when they came to the large one man tents. They were getting to their final destination, torches lit their way now. The entire camp was a fire hazard, she knew that something like this would burn an Earth camp to the ground, but these men were firebenders. This was their element.

They came upon a large red and gold tent. Only the Fire Nation could afford to be so extravagant. Two soldiers were placed outside of the tent by the awning, Kaia couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated, the tent was large, fiery red and gold, the men were huge and definitely well armed, but that wasn't what held her attention. The simple fact that this tent was the size that it was, the manpower and time this would have taken to set up, and furthermore, the bright colors. It showed that the Fire Nation feared nothing. Those colors could be seen clearly in any setting, and the Fire Nation flaunted it.

Her guard walked forward and exchanged a few words with the two guards, whose faces were shielded by some form of white faceplate. Then, he walked inside leaving Kaia standing nervously before the tent, and the two ferocious looking guardsmen. She felt nervous, intimidated, confused, and even a little scared. The simple fact that she was even alive right now scared her far more than anything else ever could have. When the Fire Nation kept somebody alive, it usually wasn't for pleasant purposes.

If she had been important it would have made more sense, but she was no more than a peasant, even by Earth Kingdom standards. There was nothing important about her, was there? What could they have been thinking in keeping her alive? Did they think she was a ringleader in the so-called resistance movement? There was no true leader. Did they think she would give up the others for a lesser sentence?

While she stood there engrossed in her own thoughts, the guard came back out again. He grabbed the chains hanging from her wrists and yanked her forward into the tent.

The tent was tall enough that even the tallest of men could successfully stand upright without his head touching the top of the fabric. Kaia caught herself staring at everything inside that tent. It was furnished. This was clearly the war tent, the great tent, the tent where everything of importance concerning the movements of troops would go on. She forced herself to look straight ahead and at nothing else. There was even fire inside this tent, lighting everything around them, enough light that not even one corner was shrouded in shadow.

Sitting immediately in front of her was a middle aged man, dark haired like all the rest. His eyes seemed to reguard her with the same kind of distaste that her own lent to him. She squared her shoulders in defiance of his gaze, holding her chin a little higher with a set jaw. The man laughed.

"So, you're the little earthbender who's been causing all the trouble." The man's voice was silky, smooth, almost reptilian, "Certainly doesn't look like much. Haven't you people learned yet? How many more of you do we have to publicly humiliate before you understand?" he mused aloud, standing to circle her.

This man, whoever he was, was tall and broad shouldered, and despite being middle aged, was still a wonderful example of what being a soldier of the Fire Nation meant. Kaia did not bend under his scrutinizing gaze.

"You don't talk much, do you?" when Kaia remained silent he continued, "I suppose you think we're here to torture you, drag the information we want out of you and then burn you to a crisp before we return you to your village, don't you?" the sharp intake of breath emitted from the prisoner was his only response, "I'm afraid you don't give us very much credit. Diplomacy before un-pleasantries." He smiled wickedly, "So I'm giving you a chance to answer now, truthfully and openly, without any repercussions. You may even live to see the sunrise."

Kaia bit the inside of her lip, everyone knew that the sun was the Fire Nations source of power. Sunrise wouldn't exactly be a welcome sight for her, in her position.

"What is your name, earthbender?" he asked, pausing just in front of her.

Kaia was looking directly into her chest, she tilted her head so that she was staring directly into his eyes. Firebenders seemed to only have two colors for eyes, dark brown and some form of amber. His eyes were hard black pools, in them she saw her own reflection, a helpless mess was what she was. "Kaia." She forced her deep strong tone again.

"Kaia. Interesting name, you don't look like a Kaia to me." He smirked, walking around her again.

It suddenly occurred to her that there were more men in the room, more military men of some kind, though they didn't seem to be very high ranking officers. They were too, dare she think it, young. It made her wonder, but the soft touch of the man's hand tracing her shoulders was enough to keep her mind from wandering further.

"Tell me, Kaia, are there more Earthbenders in your village? Or is it just you?" the snakelike voice continued.

Kaia stared unblinkingly ahead, "It's just me. I know of no others."

Before the rest of the sentence had been finished, a hand came up and struck her face. Kaia reeled, hunching and taking a step back to steady herself.

"You lie." He said curtly, his tone hadn't changed, "Our soldiers chased more than just you tonight. You were the only one they caught. Where are they hiding?"

"I don't know." She repeated, this time she was ready for the strike. When he struck at her, she moved back just enough to avoid his hand. When she moved her face back to where it had been, the air felt a bit warmer.

"Aren't we the clever one?" he continued, and threw a punch at her stomach. A blow she was unprepared for. "Gentlemen, it is clear that our diplomacy hasn't had the desired effect on the Earthbender, here." He looked around the room, meeting the eyes of the other officers, then nodded and proceeded with their plan. "However, because the Fire Nation is so benevolent, we are going to give you a choice." He said, stooping to her level to look into her face.

"What kind of choice?" Kaia was starting to stand again, she'd had the wind knocked out of her by a very powerful man.

The man grinned, "The choice between life and death, of course." He pulled her to a standing position, his eyes locked directly onto hers, "We are in need of Earthbenders. You can keep your life if you agree to work for us."

Kaia laughed, "You think I'd work for you?"

"Yes." He said shortly, "In fact, I know you'd work for us."

"What makes you so sure?" her rasp was back, the blow to the stomach had made it difficult to maintain her strong tone of voice.

"Because, your fellow benders mean so much to you. We know you'd rather die than give them away, and we're not willing to let you get away so easily. Death won't be the great reward for your not giving them away, it would be your final release." He smiled again, "You have until morning to decide. I assure you, working for us would be better for both of us."

He gestured to her guard, and he lead her away.

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Back inside the tent, the broad shouldered man's smile broadened as he watched the guard remove the foul Earthbender girl.

"Do you think she will take the bait, Captain Sheng?" a stone faced man in the corner asked, her eyes blazing viciously at the tent flap.

"I am very sure that she will." The man denoted as Captain Sheng replied, turning to walk back to his desk. To his other superior officers, he may have seemed overconfident, but this was the way that he worked. If this disgusting bit of filth the Earth Kingdom spurt from it's bowels took the bait, then it would make a certain person incredibly happy.

Captain Sheng smiled at the thought as the other men left, if this was all it was going to take, then his life would certainly be made easy.

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Kaia was jerked roughly back into her cell by her guard, "You have until morning to make your decision." He warned her, then slammed metal door shut.

Kaia glared daggers at the door, thinking of all the things that she could have said and then gave up on it. She walked over to the metal slab sticking out from the wall and then slumped down on it; the cold of the metal stung her even through her pants. Her eyes closed, her mind on her situation. The Fire Nation had given her a choice: work for them, or suffer something that would make death seem a release.

She knew of several things worse than death, listening to small children practice instruments, moldy rice, not the least of which was watching someone you loved or cared for die. Kaia knew the last reality all too well. She had watched people die of sickness, die of hunger, and worse.

She drew a breath, remembering the face of her father as the arrow took him. One shot, and he fell to the ground, the shaft sticking from his body like a vile needle from a pincushion. Sudden and quick, she knew what that snake of a man was getting at. Her death being a release, it would save lives. She knew it.

She closed her fists at her sides, "What could the Fire Nation want with me?" she whispered to herself, the rasp that was her voice echoed softly back in her ears. As much as she could fathom the consequences of her refusing their offer, she could not possibly fathom what they would want with her. Usually, the Fire Nation wanted nothing to do with the Earth Kingdom, other than use them for labor; usually, the Fire Nation wanted to only one thing with Earthbenders, kill them; usually, the Fire Nation didn't give prisoners a choice. What was going on?

Those thoughts soon left her mind, and went back to the horrid waste of a village. "It would be better for both of us." In her mind's eye, she could see the looks on the faces of her friends as they burned at the mercy of the Fire Nation.

Those were the last thoughts to run through her mind before she faded to sleep.


	3. Morning Report

The guard had not lied to her when he said sunrise - Kaia was awoken that morning with the banging of metal doors.

Two guards stepped through the door of her cell-on-wheels, their heavy boots made an ominous thudding sound as they strode towards her. They grabbed Kaia by the arms and hauled her semi conscious body to her feet. She didn't protest, but was anything but thrilled at the sudden wake up call. Apparently, her guard had learned a thing or two from last night and wasn't going to take her anywhere by himself.

She fought back for control of her body, trying to pull her thin arms out of the guards' firm grip. It didn't help that her feet were barely touching the ground, but she could make that work for her. She kicked at them as they pulled her out of the jail-cell-on-wheels, though it didn't do much more than annoy the two men with her constant barrage of taps against their shin plates.

Her feet did not touch the earth when she was brought outside; the guards were not giving her a chance to fight them. That's what they thought they were doing, at least. Kaia closed her eyes; alert to her surroundings through her other senses. She felt the cold pre dawn chill touch her face; the stench of smoke and ash filled her lungs; the wind carried the faint scent of the fires that had burned in the forests last night; she felt the dirt that coated her skin and the faintest touch as her bare feet scraped the ground. She focused on the fact that the earth was still all around her.

The movement stopped, the guards who were carrying her had paused in their walk. She didn't open her eyes to find out why; she just slammed her fists shut in the simplest maneuver possible. The earth at the feet of the guards crumbled and they lost their footing, dropping Kaia.

Kaia's eyes flew open as she landed on the ground. Sudden heat behind her cast into sharp realization why the two guards had stopped walking: they had been gathering a few more men. Kaia opened her palms, and the earth molded back into its original form beneath the guards' feet.

"I'll walk." She said gruffly, straightening herself up between the soldiers.

"Good." The voice behind her was familiar, but Kaia did not give him the honor of her glance to find out who it was. "I will take the Earthbender to Captain Sheng." The harsh voice behind her informed the two soldiers, "You two make the," he paused, searching for the proper word, "preparations."

"Yes Sergeant." And the guards at her sides took their leave in the opposite direction.

"Start walking." He touched the base of her neck with his hand, and Kaia felt the heat that could easily become a fire. She walked forward, her shoulders squared and her head held up, that so-called Captain Sheng would be getting his answer all right. He might even be surprised with it.

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Captain Sheng sat in the large red and gold tent, his dark eyes closed in meditation. In his mind, he knew the Earthbender would accept the offer. She had surely seen what the Fire Nation Army could do to a village, with or without defenses. She would know better than to refuse his offer. He had no worries about that.

His only worries were what to do about the other men. Only a few of them were in on the great plan, the great treason they were about to commit. Those that had been in on it had been in on it since the very beginning, not a year ago when their leader had begun making the arrangements. Many men in the Fire Nation believed that the Fire Lord Ozai was losing his touch, and of course, many of them had thought that his weakling of a son was to blame.

Well, they no longer had to worry about him, he was in exile now. On a fool's errand, chasing after the Avatar, a mythical being that hadn't been heard from in almost a hundred years. That boy no longer had claim to the throne of the Fire Nation, unless he actually managed to find the Avatar and bring him back to the Fire Lord. None of them had any desire to follow a boy still wet behind the ears, even if he did manage to bring back the Avatar.

His thoughts were interrupted when the guard brought the Earthbender in. "Thank you, Keahi." He said, his eyes focusing on the girl behind in front of him. "Stay a moment, if you will."

"Yes sir." The guard, Keahi, nodded and backed up to the corner of the large tent.

Kaia took a breath, expanding her chest for a moment before she let it out slowly. Captain Sheng watched it's rise and fall with a sadistic smile. "Well, Earthbender," he began, "have you made your decision?" he asked, folding his arms as he watched her.

She nodded, "I have." The rasp was not gone from her voice, it even cracked through her effort to remove it. Yet, even though her voice was raspy and quiet, the confidence was clearly there, and the strength behind it could clearly be heard. That quiet strength worried Captain Sheng, and at the same time it relieved him.

"Your answer?" he pressed her, his voice pried at her.

Kaia lowered her eyes to the floor for a moment, making the Captain unsure of her answer. Was she reconsidering? He kept his mouth closed, but did not let up on his intense gaze. It seemed like it took forever before her eyes moved up and met his again. When he saw them this time, he saw in them a fierce intensity not worthy of Earthbending scum.

"I accept your offer."

Captain Sheng nodded, hiding the wicked grin that wished to cross his lips, "Very well." The tension in his muscles released, "Please, sit down." He gestured to a pillow closer to where he sat.

Kaia's cryptic gaze pierced him for a moment, then she slowly moved towards the pillow and set her body down. The Captain marveled at the control she demonstrated in her movements, he may have made the right choice in choosing this girl, but that was not for him to decide. That would be demonstrated later, if she ever proved her abilities.

"Keahi, remove the Earthbender's chains." He quipped, his snakelike voice was almost conversational as he addressed Kaia again, "Earthbender, Kaia, wasn't it?" he asked her, "How long has it been since you've eaten? You look starved." He didn't expect her to respond, so he was not surprised when she didn't.

Keahi walked over, Captain Sheng noted with indifference the way his movements seemed almost stiff in comparison with the Earthbender's show of effortless control.

Kaia nodded a brief thank you at the guard before returning her attention to the Captain, her dark eyes holding stiff eye contact with him.

"I admire your audacity, Kaia." He said calmly, continuing on in his conversational tone, "Were you injured last night? I see that you have accumulated some burns. I will have one of our physicians look at you. There is no need for your health to suffer now. You are, after all, working for us."

Kaia seethed, she drew breath again, "Just get to the point." She said calmly, the tone of her voice suggested that she did not have time for the Captain's useless conversation. She had no interest in his false show of compassion; she was here to find out what he wanted from her.

In the back of the room, Keahi smiled.

"Very well, Kaia." The Captain nodded, "These are the terms and conditions of our arrangement. You will be part of the Fire Nation Army. You will be treated as a soldier of the Fire Nation. You will be fed, you will receive medical attention, you will be trained, and you will follow orders." He watched as Kaia nodded, "Then, you will travel to the Capital City as a messenger. You will travel with the Fire Nation Navy, under Commander Zhao." He watched the Earthbender, her face was indifferent, "Once you are there, you will go into the palace, and you will kill the Fire Lord."

Kaia could no longer hold her features, her eyes opened wide, and her mouth dropped open. "You want me to kill the Fire Lord?" she repeated incredulously, unbelieving of her ears. She seemed unsure of her senses.

"Yes."

Kaia swallowed, no wonder they had wanted her for this job. No self respecting Fire Nation citizen would attempt to commit such an act. Though, she could not say that the task was not to her liking, there wasn't an Earthbender who didn't despise the Fire Lord. "Why?" she asked smoothly, keeping her tone level despite her shock.

The Captain nodded, "Keahi, guard the door." He said, then redirected his gaze at Kaia, "Let me tell you a little story, Earthbender." There he went calling her 'Earthbender' again, he'd need to break that habit soon, "Not six months ago, a young prince of the Fire Nation was disgraced by his father in an Agni Kai, and banished from the Fire Nation. He was always weak, it was inevitable. The Fire Lord would not want a weakling taking up after him, the boy might end the war." He said, looking at Kaia meaningfully.

Kaia remained indifferent, "So, why do you want me to kill the Fire Lord?" she asked again.

"Because we are tired, this whole world conquest thing has gotten out of hand." His silky tone weaved through the room, "We are tired of this. Killing innocent people; burning villages; being away from our homes; being away from our families; Kaia, you surely can understand what war has done to your village, to your home, your family. Haven't you ever wished you could stop it?"

Kaia remained silent, but the look in her eyes told him that he had broken through to her, whether or not she believed him, "With the Fire Lord out of the way, the Prince will return, and being the boy that he is, he will stop this war. His peace loving uncle will see to it."

Kaia did not believe the Captain for a moment, but his offer was tantalizing. Go out and kill the Fire Lord, there was the promise of a new beginning in it. There was the smallest possibility of the empty dream of peace coming from this. All she had to endure to achieve a dream was a nightmare.

"All you have to do, Kaia, is sign this paper." He said, carelessly handing her a small bit of parchment.

Kaia's eyes flicked over the characters on the page, "What of my family?" she asked, not removing her eyes from the parchment.

"They will be sent a fraction of your pay. They will know that you are safe, being cared for, and" he paused, "that you are still on their side." He smiled.

Kaia nodded, then picked up the pen Captain Sheng had handed her and wrote her name at the bottom of the parchment: Kaia Niyati.

Captain Sheng smiled, "Keahi! Please take Miss Niyati to the physician." He said calmly as Keahi walked quietly into the room.

"Yes sir."

"Then return here for the remainder of your orders."

Keahi nodded, "Please follow me, Niyati." He said quietly, the tone of his harsh voice still had not changed.

The Captain held back his elation as the Keahi led the Earthbender out of the tent. Step One was completed. He settled down to write his success to his friend, the Commander.

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"Zhi!" Keahi called outside of another rather large tent.

Kaia continued to hold herself in that stick straight posture, as of now, she no longer needed to act a part, but she would not let herself down for any reason. She was still in awe at the size of the Fire Nation camp - it was enormous, and so easy to see. It was just like the Fire Nation to flaunt itself, and the bright red of the tents just went to show that they feared no ambush.

"ZHI!" Keahi called once again, "Zhi, get out here! I have a patient for you." He growled impatiently.

A few moments later a short little man came stumbling out of the physician's tent, "My, Keahi, must you shout? This is a physician's tent, not a soldiers' cathouse! I'm busy. What is it?" The little man glanced at Kaia, "What happened to you, dear? You look as though you've been through a battle zone? Oh, what am I saying? This whole place is a battle zone!" the old man jabbered, "Let me guess, Captain Sheng wants me to take care of her?" he asked, sending his brown eyed gaze towards Keahi.

"Yes, if you don't mind, Zhi." Keahi responded.

Zhi nodded, "Of course I don't mind. Just go inside, dear." He instructed Kaia, who slowly responded to his quick jabbering, "I don't know what you put her through, Keahi, but don't do it again. Go on now, I have work to do!"

A few moments later, the short man reappeared inside the tent. Kaia was standing with her arms folded, looking around the partitioned room. There were cots, tables, and a few water basins, though not too many of those.

"Have a seat, uh, what did you say your name was?"

"Kaia. Kaia Niyati." Kaia replied, taking a seat on the hard looking cot. To her pleasant surprise, she found that it was quite comfortable, and relaxed just a bit.

"Very nice name." the man responded, "Earth Kingdom, I suspect?"

Kaia's eyes shot open a little wider, "Yes. From the Shadow… from Nishimura." She said, sounding a little surprised.

"I suspect they'll all end up calling you Niyati." The man said as he began examining her. He started with her arms, examining the old scars and the new cuts and bruises as he went along, "They'll do that, try and make you forget who you are, you know." He continued, "They'll want you to forget about the Earth Kingdom. Going to be a soldier, yes? I expect I'll be seeing a lot more of you. You certainly do seem to have a lot of injuries, nothing too serious, but certainly a lot of them." Zhi continued to chatter absentmindedly, and Kaia didn't mind that, for once, she didn't have to think about anything.

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Keahi sighed as he walked back to his tent. The Earthbender girl had taken the bait, as far as he was concerned, and that was good. His job was now to make sure that only a certain number of people knew of her existence, and make sure that her people thought that she was either dead, or had completely abandoned them. It didn't really matter which one the people thought, as long as they didn't pay her disappearance any further attention.

He calmly stripped off his uniform and folded it up inside his rucksack, then he took out a rough green shirt and some rather itchy brownish pants, Earth Kingdom clothing, and put them on. He looked like he could have been an Earth Kingdom peasant, if it wasn't for the rest of him. He reached up and pulled down his top knot, letting his black hair fall around the rest of his head and face.

He knew his amber eyes would be a dead giveaway, but he had always simply stated that the Fire Nation had invaded his village before he was born. It usually worked. The Fire Nation didn't have a very good reputation, and that was often times a blessing. He left his tent and made his way towards the village the girl had come from.

Dawn had broken long ago, the skies a definite grey, the smoke the Fire Nation Army produced would linger for a while after they departed. He walked through the woods; scorch marks covered the ground where they had trapped Kaia the night before. A small trace of a grin passed over his lips, that girl had put up quite a fight. She might be what they needed to finish this scheme.

The earth tore at his bare feet, he grimaced, unaccustomed as he was to walking around barefoot on cracked earth. He looked around, his eyes resting on the arrows sticking out of the burned trunks of the trees. He could remember what the sight had looked like last night; it didn't look the same under the glow of the sun.

He walked a few yards more before he heard the pad of feet behind him, he turned to see a bedraggled young man holding a scythe and an armful of edible plants, "Identify yourself." The young man demanded, his green eyes focused harshly on Keahi.

"Zev." Keahi stated without hesitation, "I'm part of the resistance in Ba-Sing-Sei." He said quickly, "Can you tell me where I am?" he asked in earnest.

"You are in Nishimura." the man standing across from him said. Keahi noticed that this man still hadn't lowered his scythe, he would remember to tell Captain Sheng to be wary of the farmers in this village - some of their tools could be used as weapons.

Keahi smiled in relief, "An Earth Kingdom village, yes?"

The man nodded, his green eyes narrowing, "Yes."

"Good, I'm going the right way then!" he said, relief in his eyes as well, "I just got away from the Fire Nation… they have a camp not too far from here, you know." he explained, "I'm trying to go home." he grinned, "Thank you for your help." he said, and turned to go.

The man stopped him, "You came from the Fire Nation camp?" he said, "Were there any others there from the Earth Kingdom?"

Keahi stopped and bit his lip, thinking, "Yeah, there was." he said, "There was a girl that got picked up some time last night." He shook his head sadly.

"Was her name Kaia?" the man pressed.

"Kaia? Yeah, that sounds about right." he said quietly, "I didn't get to speak with her for very long, threw her in and took her out," he snapped his fingers solemnly "just like that."

"What happened to her? Is she alright?" the man was getting excited, anxious it seemed.

"I don't know. I didn't see her after they took her out." He looked at the man, watching his expression sadden, "I'm sorry I can't tell you more. Was she...?" he asked, looking at the man curiously.

He shook his head, "No, nothing like that. She was a very good friend of mine." He smiled weakly, "She was a key member of our village. Did a lot for people." He said simply.

"I see." Keahi nodded, "What's your name, friend?"

"Boaz."

"Thank you for your help, Boaz. I'm sorry I couldn't help you more." Keahi said weakly, offering his hand.

Boaz shook it, "Just remember us back in Nishimura when you've made some headway at Ba-Sing-Sei." He said, then turned and walked down the hillside, towards the village. He was so stunned at the news of Kaia's apparent death that he didn't even notice that the man who had given him that information had amber eyes, or was unusually well fed for a prisoner of the Fire Nation.

Keahi smirked, that had been far too easy.

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Kaia had been instructed to get some sleep after Zhi had practically covered her with salve and talked her into oblivion. Kaia's only request of him was that she get a piece of paper and a pen, she just wanted to write a letter to someone. She'd told him it was to her mother, but it was really to her friend Boaz, a bender from her village. He was one of the others who opposed the Fire Nation. Of all people, he was the one who she trusted the most to keep a secret, and the one she knew she could count on to help her.

She pulled the table over to her and slowly began to write:

_Boaz, _

_By the time you find this letter, I will probably be halfway to Omashu. I am sorry to do this to you, please do not think I am abandoning our cause. I have been granted an opportunity with the Fire Nation Army, and I mean to use it to our advantage. They do not know of our Refuge, or how many of us there are. Do not worry, they never will. Remember Boaz, there must always be hope._

_Kaia_

She read over her letter carefully, then folded it up and tucked it away and out of sight. She planned on hiding the letter for Boaz to find, if he ever got around to looking for it. They had used this method before, write a letter, hide a letter, find a letter, read a letter, burn a letter, write a letter… it had worked once before.

As soon as she had finished tucking the letter away, Captain Sheng walked into her partitioned room of the tent, "Ah, Niyati. I thought you would be in here." He was carrying a tray of some foul smelling Fire Nation food, "You need to eat." He said calmly, placing the foul smelling tray on the table, on top of the extra paper that Zhi had brought for her.

"You understand how things will work?" the man asked, sitting on the edge of her cot.

"Not entirely." Kaia responded, poking at her food with the utensils before determining that it was probably safe to eat.

"Your interaction with the soldiers will be very limited." He explained, "Unfortunately, not many of my men are as _accepting_ of other cultures as we would like them to be." He shook his head, "You will train with them, eat with them, but you will travel in that cell." He held up his hand, "I know, it seems unfair, but it gives you more time to yourself, and you will be free to do whatever you like in there. Such as, practice with your weapons."

Kaia's eyes lit, "Weapons?"

"Yes. Did you think that we would send you on a potentially dangerous mission without any proper weapons training?"

Kaia felt her cheeks turn a bit of color, "No." she said, "Of course not."

"You will also be allowed to practice your Earthbending." He smiled, watching her eyes light again, "The men you will be with have agreed to spar with you so that you might learn how better to fight against Firebenders."

"Thank you, sir."

Captain Sheng stood up to go, "And, by the way." He trailed his hand around her bony shoulders to her neckline, "No letters." He snatched the corner of her correspondence to Boaz, "Don't worry, I won't read this one." he ripped it in half, "But consider that your only warning."

Kaia swallowed, "Yes sir."

Zhi hurried in as Captain Sheng left the room, "I am so sorry, Kaia. If I had known that you weren't allowed to send letters, I most certainly wouldn't have given you the paper. Did you get enough rest?" he asked her, busying himself with clearing up the ink and the papers, "The soldiers should be tearing down the camp now. We should be moving in an hour. Were you supposed to wait for anyone?"

Kaia shook her head, "I don't know."

"What are you doing joining the Fire Nation Army anyway?" he asked her.

Kaia smirked, staring at the floor, so now she knew what Zhi had been wondering this whole time, "Trying to make a difference."

"For who?"

"My village." Not just for her village, for the people in her village, for herself, and possibly even for the Earth Kingdom. Yet, if the truth was told, she didn't know what she was doing in the Fire Nation Army other than trying to stay alive.

"Really? That's not why I think you joined the Fire Nation. No self respecting Earthbender joins the Fire Nation Army without a very good, very specific, cause, unless they're caving to a threat." He looked at Kaia, his white hair and dark eyes reminded her of the old village Elder Keb, "And Kaia, I think you joined for a good, specific cause." He smiled reassuringly, and patted her back, "My! Look at the time! I have work to do. I had better not be seeing you here too soon, Kaia."

"Thank you, Zhi." Kaia smiled, "I'll try not to be back soon." She said, and then left through the tent flap, out into the smoky heat of the noonday sun.

She closed her eyes for a moment, holding her breath as the sun hit her face. It made her feel good and guilty that she was standing there now, breathing the smoke filled air in the middle of the Fire Nation Army's camp. It was good because she was alive, she was going to do something that had never been attempted before, she was going to help her village, she was going to contribute something to this hundred year war. But, it made her feel guilty, because she knew that many of her people had been in those same circumstances and not lived to see the next day's sunrise. It was more than likely that her friends in Nishimura, the Shadowland, would not ever know what really happened to her, unless she was able to find a way to contact one of them.

She opened her eyes again, and started trying to find her way back to her jail-cell-on-wheels. That thing would be her home for the next few months, so she figured that she might as well get used to it.

It took no time at all for Kaia to get herself lost, an Earthbender amongst the chaos of a well organized camp ground. Tents were being torn down, soldiers ran around with massive packs on their backs, animals were being saddled and loaded up. Not many of them paid much attention to the lost woman wandering in and out of the tents looking for where she was supposed to be.

"Niyati!" a voice rang above the clanking and noises of a camp being torn down, "Niyati!" the voice called out again. "NIYATI!" someone's hand grabbed her shoulder.

Kaia spun, her hands in an attack position, glaring down a Fire Nation soldier, ready to attack, and then she realized that it wasn't her job to do that anymore. She shrugged his hand off of her shoulder harshly, "What?" she demanded, "Who are you?" the man who had put his hand on her shoulder wasn't Keahi, Zhi or the Captain.

"Hakan." He said, flashing a smile her way before he realized that this woman was the all-business type, "Keahi sent me to look for you. Our platoon is getting ready to move out." He informed her, "And we need to get you back to your… to your…." He slowed down and stopped talking for a moment, "Have you been to see Zhi yet?" he asked her, staring at her face.

"Yes. I have." Kaia snapped, thoroughly perturbed by this man.

"Good, good… I was worried because, you know, your face is kind of… well. Nevermind. We need to get you back to the, uh, your… living quarters." He finished, seeming to be proud of himself for being able to find a more pleasant name for the cell-on-wheels.

Kaia sighed, "Alright." and turned to follow Hakan to the cell-on-wheels.

On the way back, Kaia listened to Hakan jabber on about the other the other three men she would be associating with. From what she could gather, she was in for slightly more than she bargained for. Hakan didn't seem to ever shut up, and she already knew that she didn't like Keahi.

She stepped up into the cell-on-wheels and Hakan closed the door, but not before telling her that if she needed anything at all, all she had to do was bang on the door and he would be right there, and he meant he would be right there.

She looked over at the metal slab she had slept on the night previously, and found that her little jail cell had been somewhat refurbished. For one thing, there was a pillow, and there was also a small pile of fabric sitting on the bench.

She walked over to it, lurching a bit as the cart started moving, and read the note on top of it, "To Niyati, from your friend Zhi."

She shuddered reading the note. Would the word 'friend' really be how she came to think of these people in the end? She hoped not.


	4. Existence

Existence

Kaia sat in the corner of that cell-on-wheels for a large portion of the day, doing nothing more than thinking. Her body may have been still, but her mind was restless. She was still not sure that her decision had been the right one. She doubted her judgment, and she doubted the Captain's word. She knew as a fact that the Fire Nation was not to be trusted, yet here she was putting her life in their hands.

The small pile of fabric from Zhi had turned out to be a wool blanket, thick, warm, and bright red, the colors of the Fire Nation, but she was nonetheless grateful to him. If she had to go as far to say that she liked any person in this camp, she would say that Zhi came the closest. He was a crazy old man, and she had the feeling that he could be sharp as a tack if it came down to it. That's why he reminded her of Elder Keb, he looked so kindly and calm, and was a slight hair off center, but was just as sharp as he was sixty or seventy years ago.

She leaned back and banged her head on the metal slab, "What am I doing here?" she asked herself, staring at the metal ceiling. She closed her eyes, drifting in the moments between sleep and consciousness, and then the cart hit a particularly large rock in the road, knocking her awake again. "An Earthbender does not belong with the Fire Nation." she chided herself, "What were you thinking, Kaia?" she muttered, rubbing the back of her head.

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While Kaia sat in the cell-on-wheels, the rest of the soldiers moved in tight clumps along the road. Hardly by rank and file, they moved at their own pace just as long as they kept up with the rest. Some of the soldiers carried on conversations with their fellows, talking of home, bemoaning the lack of different food, gloating about past victories, or just bantering amongst themselves. Some of them had heard that there was an Earthbender in the cell, and speculated on why it was being kept alive; stories circulated that the Earthbender was a ringleader in the resistance, others thought the Earthbender was being kept for target practice, or just a better night for entertainment, and still more didn't believe that there really was an Earthbender in the cell, all the fuss was just camp stories.

A small group of men, who actually knew the truth behind why the Earthbender was being kept alive, walked in a loose clump not too far behind the cart, carrying on a quiet conversation of speculation of their own kind.

"So, they finally got the tool, I hear." The taller of the men asked, staring at the cart as if he was trying to see through it.

"I heard they picked it up at the last village, a bit of luck while they were trying to flush out the Earthbenders." a small brown haired man added, he was clearly the youngest of the group, "Has anyone seen it, besides the Captain and Keahi?"

Hakan nodded, "I think me and Zhi have met her."

"Hold on there Hakan, did you just say 'her'?" the first man demanded, his eyes constricting.

"Yes." Hakan responded matter-of-factly, "Don't give me that look, Ryuji," he said, as the taller man scowled, "she looked like she put up quite the fight before she got in here." he shook his head, "Burns, bruises, cuts, scars, you name it. Quiet too."

The man addressed as Ryuji scowled, "Wonderful. First it's an Earthbender, then it's a female." his voice full of disdain, "Let me guess Hakan. She's short, scrawny, weak and a waste of our time. She probably won't even last through the first round of sparring." He rolled his eyes, "I bet she can't even lift a sword."

"It is an interesting choice, though." The second man, more of a boy really, spoke up again, "He won't be expecting a Fire Nation soldier to be an Earthbender, moreover – he wouldn't expect a female." He said quietly.

"What do you know of what he'd expect, Zakai?" Ryuji scoffed, "She's probably as green as you are!"

The one addressed as Zakai quieted again, and Hakan spoke up, "Good one Ryuji, but Zakai can't be green, he's from the Fire Nation." It was just like Hakan to come up with a really bad pun to push the comment over, "We'll have to wait until night to find out just how good she is."

"Trust Keahi to get all the fun first…" Ryuji muttered, continuing to glare at the cart, no doubt wanting to deem the Earthbender unfit, and leave it to rot in the dust of the camp.

"Did I hear someone mention my name?" a harsh voice asked from behind.

"Keahi! I didn't see you there." Ryuji murmured apologetically.

"Of course you didn't." Keahi grinned, "The three of you should talk softer. We do not need to jeopardize the plan before it's set into action." He eyed the three men irritably, "You know how this is going to work. There's a lot at stake here, and I can't let your blabbering ruin our one chance at this, got it?"

Ryuji glared, "Sure, Keahi."

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It was well into the evening when the soldiers stopped to camp. Kaia had fallen asleep on the floor, the Fire Nation blanket wrapped firmly around her, her head was even covered by the large woolen mass. She had gotten tired of staring at the ceiling, and had curled up with the blanket long ago, and would have been quite happy to remain asleep for the rest of the day.

Unfortunately, fate was never exactly kind to those who wished to sleep. A quick stop and a loud bang served as Kaia's alarm clock. The short stop was the cart coming to a halt, and the loud bang was Kaia's head slamming against the floor in the aftermath. A few moments later, the door swung open and a tall man she hadn't seen before stepped into the cell.

"So, you're the Earthbender, huh?" Kaia's first impression of the man was that he was, in a word, huge. He filled the entire doorway, and his head brushed the ceiling of the cell, flatting the top knot of black hair on his head, "Get up." He sneered, looking at her with disgust, "We start now." The man turned and left the cart, leaving Kaia to disentangle herself from the blanket.

He watched as she stumbled out of the cart, she was just as pathetic as he'd imagined her to be. Short and scrawny, this was going to be a waste of his time. "Come on, you." He growled, and proceeded to walk off towards some unmarked area of the camp.

Kaia looked around, the sky was pink and the sun was quickly fading in the distance. Her training was being done at sunset. She picked up and followed after the broad shouldered soldier, if this man was what the Captain had meant by 'more accepting' than she'd hate to find out what the rest of them were like.

They soon arrived at a large, mostly cleared, piece of land. "This is your temporary sparring field." The behemoth told her gruffly, "The others aren't here yet, but they will be here soon." He started to circle her, his arms folded across his massive chest.

Kaia watched him move for a moment and smirked, "You wanted to test me, didn't you?" she said, following him with her piercing gaze, "Stop wasting _my _time and get to the point." She turned slowly with him, holding his eyes in her gaze, feeling her body tense, "You don't think an Earth Kingdom peasant can hold her own against a Fire Nation soldier, correct?" she smiled, brushing her unkempt hair from her face. She didn't know why she was taunting him like this, especially this man, perhaps she wanted to end this as quickly as possible.

The man, who had been circling her, stopped and gazed at her inscrutably.

"No bending." She said calmly, "No weapons." She shifted her weight from foot to foot as she moved towards him, keeping the strength and control of her movements in rhythm with her speech, "Come on, now. You were so sure of yourself before, why are you backing down?" there she was, taunting him again. What on earth was she doing? Perhaps she was just trying to give herself a reason to be rid of this camp, she did doubt her judgment, but did not want to pull out of the bargain. This would be more fitting, she thought.

"I am not backing down." The man advanced on her. Watching his movements, Kaia knew he would be the first to act. The raw energy in his every movement spoke volumes; the Fire Nation did not have the patience of the Earth Kingdom. The two circled, whispering back and forth, their eyes locked. The tension mounted between the two until Kaia thought her body would break from it, and then the man exploded.

He sent a fist through the air. His attacks came so fast that it was hard to believe they were separate movements. Kaia blocked them, absorbing the force of the blows on her arms. His blows, though swift, did not have much force behind them. She was gauging him, identifying his weak spot. Then it came to her, he was so focused on pummeling her that he was not paying any attention to his legs. Just before she dropped her stance, a voice broke through their breathing.

"Ryuji! What do you think you're doing?"

The man stopped, placing his hands calmly at his sides, his body in rigid containment, "Nothing, Keahi." He spoke with a strained calmness.

"I told you to wait for us." Keahi glared at him, "Earthbender, are you alright?"

"Fine." She did not attempt to hide the contempt in her voice, "Am I to be training at sundown?"

"Yes."

Keahi focused on Kaia for a moment, he had seen the beginning of the fight. She had taken quite the number of blows from Ryuji, but didn't look too much worse for the wear. What was she trying to pull? He frowned, "These are the men you will be working with." He informed her, "You've already met Ryuji," he glared at the dark haired man standing across from her, "and Hakan." The brown haired man behind him grinned and waved at her, it was a disgusting display as far as Keahi was concerned. "I am Keahi, and the quiet one over there is Zakai." The boy hardly moved as he was introduced.

Kaia flashed a brief no-hearted smile. She was ready to get started, the sooner they began, the sooner it would be over with, and the sooner she could leave. "Kaia Niyati." she said, a brief and hostile introduction for herself.

Sensing the tension, Keahi threw a broadsword at her feet. Hakan grinned and drew his own, "Do you know how to use that?" he asked conversationally.

Kaia dropped and picked it up, "No." she eyed him viciously, "The Fire Nation does not allow use the use of conventional weapons."

"Oh. Sorry, I'd forgotten." Hakan scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, "Here, let me show you." And for the next few hours, Hakan instructed Kaia in the conventional use of the traditional broadsword. Kaia had great difficulty with it, finding it to be amazingly unwieldy in her bony hands.

"It's alright," Hakan reassured her, "it just takes some getting used to."

The other three watched from the sidelines, Keahi was smiling. "You seem surprised, Ryuji. She's not doing as badly as you'd hoped, is she?" he pointed out.

Ryuji sneered, "I'm surprised that she can pick up the sword." He eyed Kaia with distaste, "She'd better learn faster with everything else, or we don't have a snowball's chance in the Fire Nation."

Zakai spoke up, "She defends herself well, but her attacks are weak. She might be used to fighting with unconventional weapons." He said softly.

"Be quiet Zakai, you hardly do better."

The sharp clang of metal on metal broke apart their conversation.

"What on earth..?"

Hakan had taken to sparring with Kaia, just running her through the ropes to make sure she had understood everything he had said to her. From the looks of things, she had understood most of it.

"Congratulations, Keahi. You're little Earthbender can fight at the novice level." Ryuji commented dryly.

"Zakai, go tell Hakan we're moving on to hand to hand. She can practice her form in the morning. We don't have a lot of time." He said gruffly.

Zakai obeyed, scampering across the field to Hakan and Kaia. "Hakan! Hakan!" his quiet voice was barely heard over the clanging of the swords. In fact, if it wasn't for a lucky block by Hakan, Kaia might have taken off the poor boy's head.

"Whoa! Watch it Zakai!" he laughed, yanking him over, "What news from the front?" he asked, sticking his sword into the ground and leaning on the hilt.

Zakai stared wide eyed for a moment, but blinked himself back into reality, "Keahi says that's enough with the weapons. He wants Niyati to go on to hand to hand."

Hakan looked slightly confused. He glanced up at Kaia for a moment, looking at her shaking body, she was tired. Keahi had to be out of his mind! He looked over Zakai's shoulder, and found that Ryuji was already on his way towards them. The look of malice and unsettled scores was all over his face. It didn't take him too long to notice the same look cross Kaia's mask.

Hakan forced a grin, "I'll be taking that sword back now, Niyati." he extended his hand and took the sword from her, "Don't worry, you'll get it back before we turn in." he winked. "Come on, Zakai." He said, grabbing the boy and pulling him back to Keahi.

As they passed Ryuji, he couldn't help but notice the small smile of satisfaction on the big man's face. He didn't like it. It worried him that this phase of the plan might be over before it truly began.

"Keahi, what are you thinking?" Hakan hissed as soon as he was within earshot, "You're pushing too far in one night!"

"Hakan." Keahi's voice held a mild tone of warning, "I think I know what I'm doing. You saw the way those two were going at it before we got here, if I don't let them have at each other now, it will only be worse later on." He said calmly.

"Niyati's tired. Ryuji's not going to instruct her, he's going to pulverize her."

Keahi raised an eyebrow, "Hakan, you're trying my patience. Go practice your form, if you don't want to watch the sport." He quipped, focusing intently on Hakan as the man frowned.

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Kaia's shoulders hunched over as she allowed herself a moment to breathe. Handling a sword had been harder than she had imagined it would. True, she had used weapons before, but nothing as cumbersome as that sharpened metal stick. After handling one herself, it was hard to believe that there were people who mastered it as a sole means of defense.

She breathed a moment and then stood up- the great brute was heading her way. The look on his face wasn't pleasant; he was looking for a fight. Kaia hung her head, remembering the way he had laid into her the last time he attacked. She doubted her arms could take that much of a beating again.

"So, Niyati, let's finish what we started." Ryuji's gruff voice whispered to her. She opened her eyes to find that his face was a bare few inches from her own. "No bending." He smirked, "No weapons."

Kaia took a breath, her chest still heaving slightly, "Yes, let's."

Ryuji had already started to circle her.

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Zakai watched the two, utterly entranced by their movements. He was a student of strategy, and had a unique understanding of the movements of three out of four elements. He could tell by watching movements if a person was a bender, or just another person like he was. As he watched, he knew that both of them were benders, and that this was not just going to be hand to hand.

He looked up at Hakan, wondering if Hakan saw what he saw, and then put his eyes back on the two. They were talking, and Ryuji was tensing. He sighed, "Three, two, one." And just as the boy had timed it, the giant attacked. He saw Hakan stiffen out of the corner of his eye and smirked.

Niyati blocked his blows, stepping into each one of his attacks. The two were only using their fists. Niyati had stepped in too close to attack with anything else. What was she getting at? Zakai winced as Niyati took a blow to the head; she had gotten a little too close. She probably wouldn't make that mistake again. But, she was.

Zakai leaned in, and then realized that he had been watching the wrong battle. Niyati was grappling Ryuji with her legs.

"The Earthbender's trying to force him down." He heard Keahi remark overhead.

Zakai nodded, Niyati was trying to throw Ryuji off balance. It would take a lot more effort than what she was giving it, he was afraid. Ryuji was just too big, and Niyati was too small. He watched the effort casually, and then it struck him, "Ryuji's backing up!" he announced, slightly louder than he'd meant too.

Niyati had started attacking. She was ignoring his blows. Palm strike. Punch. Spear. Block. Headshot. Palm strike. Her attacks were slower than his were, but he could see that they were having some effect.

Ryuji was losing ground, his face was glowing. Niyati's face was bright as well, but her movements remained as controlled as ever. Neither was backing down. They were far from being evenly matched. Ryuji kicked, and Niyati reeled, falling back again. It went back and forth. Zakai could hardly believe the fight was only nearing on five minutes. Ryuji had the upper hand again, his explosive movements knocked the Earthbender back over and over again.

They continued, Ryuji gained more ground, Niyati was weakening, and Ryuji was growing brighter. No, not just brighter.

"He's going to bend."

The earth came out of nowhere, blocking Ryuji's sudden attack.

"Get Zhi." Keahi instructed him before leaving.

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Kaia felt the heat of Ryuji's attack as it burst around her hasty block. She was moving backwards and she knew it, "I yield!" she yelled again, but it wasn't enough to satisfy the fire crazed man. She pulled up another wall, "You said no bending!" she called over the roar of flames, as though she had expected a Firebender to keep his own word.

Ryuji sidestepped her wall and moved in closer. "Consider that your lesson for today." He growled back, sending another flame her way.

"Never trust a firebender?" she slid her face back just in time to prevent massive injury.

"Be prepared." He grinned, and sent another barrage of attacks up against her.

Kaia blocked some of the shots, but others came in contact with her body. She cried out, fire was painful; she hated the way it burned. The way it needed to consume. The way fire constantly needed to feed. She was on the ground. The fire had stopped its burning, but there was still pain. She wanted to extinguish the fire. The first step was the Fire Lord. The first step was Ozai. Stop him from burning her village… stop him from burning…

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"Kaia! Kaia!" a pair of gentle hands held her shoulders.

Kaia opened her eyes, "Zhi?" she whispered, staring up at the white haired man. "What are you doing out here?"

"What happened to her, Keahi?" the old man scorned, looking her over carefully, "Hakan! STOP STARING! This is medicine!"

"Ryuji…" Keahi began, but was interrupted by Ryuji.

"Keahi told me to…"

Hakan cut both of them off, "Keahi let Ryuji spar with…"

"Ryuji cheated." Kaia spoke up, "No bending." She said faintly from the ground, closing her eyes again.

Zhi glared at them, "Zakai, go get her a uniform. Keahi, inform your superior of your incident, and pray that Captain Sheng wakes up in a good mood!" he paused, "Ryuji… get out of my sight!" he barked. To say the old man was angry certainly did not do him justice.

"Zhi, what do you want me to do?" Hakan asked, as the others ran off to perform their assigned tasks.

"Help me get her back to that infernal crate."

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"Captain Sheng, it's Keahi."

The Captain was obviously less than pleased to be woken up in the middle of the night. "What is it? This had better be good news, or something incredibly important." The disgruntled head of the middle aged man poked out through the front of the tent. "Well, go on. What is it?"

"Sir, it's the Earthbender."

"What about it?"

"It's… perfect."

"Really? Come in. Tell me how it fared against our dear Ryuji." He smiled wickedly and beckoned Keahi into the tent.

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Hakan sat with Niyati in the cell-on-wheels long after Zhi had left. Zhi's specific instructions had been to wait there until she came too. It had been a long time, and the Earthbender hadn't done much more than breathe and mutter incoherently. He supposed that was alright though, because that was what most people did when they were sleeping.

The cart had started moving awhile ago, and Niyati hadn't woken up. Hakan had thrown the blanket left by Zhi over her just as soon as he'd gotten in there. He'd done this for several reasons, not the least of which was that it was rather chilly to him, a firebender, so it must have been worse for her.

She really hadn't taken too bad of a beating, he figured, it could have been a lot worse. Minor burns and some bruising, but Zhi seemed completely confident that it could have been a lot worse. Hakan supposed that in a few days, they might let Ryuji within a few hundred yards of Niyati, but Zhi most certainly wouldn't allow it until then.

He held his breath as Niyati stirred, but she did no more than resettle herself against the wall. Hakan didn't know what bothered him more, the fact that he and Zhi seemed to be the only two who were trying to treat the Earthbender like a person, or the fact that Niyati seemed to be trying to prove herself to be a puppet.

The cart hit a bump and the cart clanged with the sudden force of heads banging the sides, and weapons falling to the ground. Niyati's eyes shot open and focused instantly on Hakan, "What are you doing in here?" she demanded.

Hakan shrugged, "I got tired of walking." he said peaceably, "I'd be careful moving if I were you." he warned her, "Ryuji did a number on you."

Niyati glared at him, "I hadn't noticed." she spat at him.

"Well, I just thought I'd mention it." He smiled, "Your uniform is on the bench next to your rations." he stood up, he'd completed his job, "Thought you might be hungry. Everything's in here now." He put his hand on the door, "Remember if you need anything, just bang on the wall, and holler. If the banging doesn't bring someone around, the yelling will get their attention." He opened up the door and stepped out into the sunlight, "Get some rest, Niyati." He said, and then closed the door.

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Kaia growled as Hakan closed the door behind him, and then allowed her mask of indifference fall to the ground. She pushed the red blanket off of her body and surveyed the damage caused by Ryuji. She was covered in that salve again, and she was more than annoyed to find that more of her clothes had burned. It's what she got for being a peasant of the Earth Kingdom – flammable clothing.

She glanced over at the bench where her new uniform and food was sitting. She pulled over the food and wolfed it down ravenously, not even noticing the way that the sludge stuck to her throat, or that it was cold, or even that it tasted like a very strange concoction of eggs and rice. She finished it and then looked to the pile of red, grey and black sitting near her, the armor sat further away.

She pushed herself to a stand and removed her clothing. She took off what remained of her shirt and pants and folded them up, setting them down gently on the metal bench. Then she looked at what she had now. She bit her lip and threw on the Fire Nation uniform, with no regard for it whatsoever. The uniform was too large for her, but it was mostly due to malnourishment, she had no doubt that she would fill out the uniform eventually. She grabbed the length of black cloth and tied it around her waist, holding the rest of the uniform in place.

That part of the uniform was lighter than it looked, it was at least breathable. She looked at the remainder of the pile, there were socks, boots, and it seemed that the arm and shin guards had been placed in that pile as well. She grabbed those and pulled them on.

Kaia the Earthbender was almost invisible through the mass of Fire Nation clothing.

She looked down at her old shirt and ripped a frayed edge of and used it to tie up her hair.

Kaia caught a glimpse of her reflection and nearly dropped the broadsword she had been picking up. She set her jaw, just because she looked like one of them didn't mean that she was one of them.

With that final thought, she settled into her movements.

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**A/N - The uniforms are just my interpretation of what it would be like putting it on in its various pieces. Don't eat me.  
Also, trying to find a better title for this story. Let me know if someone out there thinks of something better!**


	5. By the Sword

Kaia's movements had gone from stiff and painful to sharp and stronger, her use of the sword had improved in theory, but she had not been tested again since her first fight with Ryuji. It had been over a week since that day, and Kaia had seen little more than visions of passing light and shadow out the barred window of her cell, Zhi had not wanted to risk her health by letting her train with the others again.

She sat on the decreasingly comfortable metal floor of the cell as Zhi unwrapped her bandaging once again.

"It seems to have healed over well." The old man smiled kindly, "Despite your efforts."

Kaia attempted to return the favor, "I tried."

Zhi nodded, "Of course. I'll send word to Keahi that you will be training again tonight." He stared emptily into his medicine bag, replacing his bandages and salves with the sort of tired efficiency that only came after years of the same task, "You be careful, Kaia." He warned, "I don't know why they've got you here, but" he sighed, shaking his head, "It's not my place to know what Captain Sheng does with the soldiers." He stood moving to the door, "I just treat them."

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The sun disappeared early that evening. Kaia watched anxiously as its last rays faded from view beyond the confines of her metal box. The cart had rumbled to a stop not too long ago, the sounds of the camp being set barely reached her ears from the distance. She had been kept a far distance away from the fighting men, she guessed that only a few of them knew that she was more than just a prisoner. If Zhi didn't know, she knew the other men wouldn't.

The familiar smell of fresh smoke filled her nostrils- the early watch-fires were being built. She still wondered why they did that, almost three quarters of the camp were firebenders, it seemed almost redundant. She likened it to an Earthbender carrying around a boulder. It seemed somewhat strange.

The orange color of the sky quickly faded to grey with smoke. She pulled her hair back, and began placing the more intricate details of the Fire Nation uniform into place. Kaia had gotten used to the reflection of Niyati the Fire Nation Soldier staring back at her through the reflection in her cell walls, but it was still unnerving that she could seem so much like them, and hate them just the same.

She picked up the broadsword and tied it in place at her waist. She was still just as small and spindly as ever, but she was delicate in the same way a rock face might be and that wasn't very much. She sat down on the metal slab behind her and closed her eyes, any moment now Ryuji or Keahi was going to bang on the door and come in, and she would see whether or not she had learned anything from the last time.

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Hakan walked swiftly to the cell on wheels, the sun's last rays were dying beyond the horizon, they only had a few short hours to train Niyati before dawn broke again. He hurriedly pulled out his keys and fumbled around with the lock for a moment before he heard the short, barely audible click.

"Niyati," he warned quietly as he swung the door open, "sundown."

"It's about time." Niyati's dark eyes barely made contact with his as she pulled herself up and out of the cart, her mask of annoyance and irritation covering the slight wince he thought he'd seen when her bare feet touched the ground.

Hakan looked at her confused for a moment, "You're not wearing any…"

"I don't like them." She snapped, "I'm only wearing this uniform because my old clothes were burned." She glared, "I won't be trading in my feet for boots unless I lose them too."

Hakan shrugged, she'd have to learn how to maneuver in them sooner or later, but he decided not to push the point. "The field is over here." He quickly stepped up the pace and walked her over to the grassy area Keahi had shown him earlier.

Niyati seemed to be off in her own world, her eyes had focused on the distant horizon, staring intently at whatever it was she could see beyond. By the time they had reached the seclusion of the field, she had fixated on a point in the distance. She stopped, almost mechanically, drew her broadsword, and set into the motions.

"Put more power into your execution. The strength of Fire Nation fighting is in the breath" He instructed, breaching whatever wall she had placed around herself, "You need a bit more practice."

Niyati turned sharply and faced him, snapping the sword to a defensive block. Her challenging gaze fixed pointedly on Hakan. "Then let's practice."

Hakan nodded and drew his own. "Alright, let's see what you remember."

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The sounds of crashing metal rolled over the otherwise quiet of the camp. Keahi sighed, "Why can't they wait?" he growled under his breath, entering the clearing followed shortly by Zakai and Ryuji.

"She's trying to prove herself." Zakai observed quietly, earning himself a reproachful look from Ryuji that caused him to close his mouth again.

"Will you look at that?" Ryuji sneered, "Little Earthbender's in a uniform." His dark eyes bored holes in the back of the girl's head.

Keahi snorted, "A good effort. She'll never fool Ozai without boots."

The three of them stood by calmly watching as the match picked up in speed and intensity. The swords clashed faster and with more ferocity every passing moment. The Earthbender was blocking most of what Hakan threw at her, and barely scraping by what she couldn't block, maneuvering fairly well even in the cumbersome uniform.

"She's not attacking." Ryuji scoffed, "Is something wrong with the bare-foot warrior?" he asked sarcastically.

Zakai shook his head, "She did this last time." He said quietly, "It's common in the Earth Kingdom. They wait."

Keahi raised an eyebrow at the boy, but took his words for what they were worth and watched the fight. Hakan's quick bursts of attacks, a flurry of movement and slow deliberate strikes, and the Earthbender's quick solid defense. They were moving in a circle, not forward and not backward. He remembered watching the Earthbender fight with Ryuji: that fight had started the same way.

Then, the eruption of energy from Hakan was smothered by the sudden onslaught of attacks from the Earthbender, quickly putting him on the defensive.

"When the Earth Kingdom attacks, they're powerful and consistant." Zakai muttered, "She's going to force him back and strike."

If only Hakan was as worried.

He flicked the blows away with his sword; she was gaining ground faster than he had expected her too. Even without the forceful explosion of power that she would need later, her ability to wait for the opponent to tire was almost enough to cover for it. She could not fight like that if she was actually going to make it to the capital. These were only basic and intermediate moves, if she could not fight at a firebenders pace…

His hands slipped, and he dropped the sword.

Keahi's eyes widened as the Earthbender moved in to make the final blow.

Hakan maneuvered around her blade and grabbed her outstretched arms, his speed and sudden force on her arms overpowered her. In a flash, he twisted the sword away from his body and back towards the Earthbender, pinning the flat edge of the blade against her throat.

Keahi's lips spread into a thin grin, "HOLD!" he called out across the field. The Earthbender had improved, even with her injuries. He was surprised, and somewhat, dare he use the word, pleased.

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"You did well, Niyati, much better than last week." Hakan whispered in her ear, "I'm going to let go of you now." He said calmly, and released his hold on her.

Kaia practically threw herself away from Hakan's tight hold. She threw her shoulders back and adjusted her uniform, looking like nothing unexpected had just happened, "It won't happen again." She spoke coarsely. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the three others approaching from behind him.

"Good to hear." Could it be that this man was smiling? "I hadn't expected you to have picked up the broadsword this quickly, it's rather difficult for most people, but it's incredibly…"

Kaia had stopped paying attention. Her eyes had focused in on one person; Ryuji was walking just behind Keahi, she caught his eyes and they held. She saw nothing else, just those dark eyes, eyes that challenged her, eyes that mocked her, eyes egging her on. It was a challenge, just to hold the eye contact, first to blink or look away was the weaker.

It was the oldest form of contest, who would look away first.

Hakan had stopped jabbering, and Keahi was talking about something. She heard nothing until, "Ryuji! Niyati!" they both broke the contact at the same time. There was no victor, though each would claim that they won.

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Over the next few days, Hakan continued to make progress with Kaia through the art of swordsmanship. In time, Kaia had gotten away from the Earthbender habit of waiting for the opponent to tire, and slowly began to become more aggressive in her attacks - sudden and powerful but short lived like an earthquake.

Keahi had wisely kept her from fighting Ryuji again, and kept their contact as little more than merely eye contact, or a correction here or there when she was practicing hand to hand, but that happened seldom. Hakan wanted to keep Kaia focused on the broadsword until she had matered it, or at least until he felt that she could handle otherwise.

One thing remained the same throughout their short training sessions, they always started with the broadsword first.

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"Give me the knives." Keahi said calmly once Kaia had turned her intense gaze towards him, "Zakai thinks that you are still too unused to a broadsword, and would work better if given weapons that you might be more accustomed too." The firebender droned without much enthusiasm, he thrust a piece of folded cloth towards Kaia.

Kaia took the cloth, and instantly knew that these would be much easier to work with. A dark light gleamed in her eyes as she uncovered the knives. She had thought right - they were Earth Kingdom knives, judging by the design to the markings on the handles. She took hold of them, the weight feeling almost natural in her hands, and let the fabric fall.

Keahi eyed her cautiously, "You might have noticed the target set up on that tree over there," he began steadily, "what we want you to do is…"

A quiet hissing interrupted his sentence, and a sharp 'thuck' made his head spin. He cleared his throat, Kaia had not only hit the mark, but the knife was embedded deep into the tree. "Do it again." He commanded.

Kaia tossed the knife in her right hand, feeling the weight, feeling the way the blade and hilt balanced imperfectly in the air, and in a flash it had flown. 'Thuck.' The knife stuck in the tree just to the right of the first knife.

Keahi's lip curled in a snarl, "Go get them." His eyes focused hatefully on her as she ran across the field.

Kaia looked at the mark on the tree, where the knives had embedded themselves deep within the trunk, and smiled. The knives had pierced deep into the tree's bark. She grasped the handles and sharply jerked them from the tree. The knives were crudely made, more for carving or hunting than for fighting, but trust the Earth Kingdom to make it work for them. The handles even had the Earth symbol etched roughly into the ends.

She casually walked back over to the group of them, tossing the knives around between her fingers as though they were just another part of her hand. The knives were just the right size for her size, much better than the broadsword. The way the felt in her hands seemed to give her more of a confident edge than she had previously felt. She had trained with knives before. Knives were a farming tool, so were hatchets. They felt natural.

She stood in front of Keahi, "Is there anything else?" she spat, taking the moment to challenge his eyes. It had to have been the knives

"Do you know any forms?" Keahi looked less than pleased when Kaia nodded. "Show us."

Kaia looked at Keahi for a moment and then closed her eyes, focusing on her own world of nothing. She started moving, slowly. The fire nation disappeared; she was in a field by herself. She picked up speed; the knives became a part of her body. She was not in a uniform; she was in her old clothes. Her movements became sharper and more intense. She was home. She moved with intensity.

The clash of metal on metal broke the illusion, and Kaia's eyes shot open. She didn't stop, as they had thought she might have. A second clash sounded as she brought her second knife around. The offending knife belonged to none other than Ryuji, and Kaia was not wasting this moment. She lunged at him; he caught her and pushed her aside. Then, for the first time since she had started training, she had taken the offensive first.

The two toppled over, Kaia on top of the burly man. Knives flashed in the air as their constant clanging filled the silence and mingled with their breathing. There was no pattern, Kaia wanted to hurt Ryuji. He had caused her injuries the past week, and to her he represented everything she hated about the Fire Nation.

Two sets of hands gripped her shoulders and pulled her off of him. "Niyati!" it was Hakan's voice, "Hold."

Her vision cleared and she relaxed her hold on the knives, a dark, pleased smile on her face. She released the tension in her body, and the hands holding her relaxed as well. Ryuji was still on the ground, Keahi was keeping him there. The big man looked less than happy.

"What were you thinking?" Keahi demanded, "I did not tell you to attack!" it hadn't been decided to whom he was speaking. "Ryuji, go see a physician." He hissed, removing the pressure on Ryuji.

The giant stood up, and Kaia noticed that there were some slashes in his clothing. She couldn't tell if she'd drawn blood or not. Ryuji passed by Kaia with not much more than a threatening look and a snarl. She couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of satisfaction at having to be pulled from Ryuji.

"You." Keahi rounded on her, "You could have..!" he seemed to be at a loss for words, "Hakan, run her through staffs and the more advanced sword techniques." And with that hurried order he walked away.

Hakan watched his leader go, then turned his gaze to Kaia, "Zakai, you can let go of her now."

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Keahi stalked off into the distance, his mind careening through thoughts as if time was of the essence. He was furious with himself. The Earthbender was dangerous; it was what they wanted. They wanted a person with a will to kill, but he had underestimated Ryuji. He shook his head, in the distance his practiced could hear the swiping of staffs.

Ryuji had a score to settle against the Earth Kingdom, and a score to settle with the Fire Lord. It was what had made him ideal for this assignment. All of them, save Zakai, had been used by the Fire Nation as a distraction in battle. To think that he, Keahi, had been worried, not for Ryuji, but the Earthbender when he had attacked.

It was the mission, he decided, he was worried about the mission. He was worried that Ryuji would destroy their chance at removing the Fire Lord.

The Earthbender had surprised him. The Earthbender had fought back, attacked even.

After a few moments of contemplation, he decided that he would keep Ryuji away from the Earthbender for awhile. He would not risk another fight between them. He did not want to lose men, or risk losing their only tool.

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**A/N – Sorry this took so long. School got in the way. **


	6. To Live is not Enough

_Boaz_

Sunlight broke through the early morning air, filtering tiredly through the smoke and haze, and quietly streamed into Kaia's cell-on-wheels. Kaia's dark eyes were wide open, casting hurried glances up at the door as the brush slid back and forth over the precious piece of parchment.

_It has been awhile since I left with the Fire Nation. Do not worry, I am fine._

The past few days had been the same. Stay in the cart all day, her choices of activities were practice, eat or sleep, and then train at night. She would return to the cart just before sunrise, four hours before the Army started moving, and she would wait until someone came to fetch her again. She had seen little of Ryuji in those past few days; she hoped she had scared him, although Hakan and Zhi assured her that it was Keahi's doing.

_I am sure that I can say the same for you. We are heading North to a large Earth village, from there I am not sure where we are going._

Hakan had spoken with her a few times. She was always able to get some form of information out of him, and over the past few days she had learned that she didn't even need to be coy. She got the same results if she had asked outright.

_I am doing this of my own will. Tell them all I still have faith._

Kaia heard footsteps hurrying quickly on the ground outside of her cart. They were about ready to move out. She had to hurry up and finish the letter, or at least clean up whatever evidence there was of her writing materials.

_In courage there is hope._

There was always hope. Her breath caught in her throat as the cart creaked to a start, she glanced up at the metal door once again.

_Kaia_

She blew on the ink, willing it to dry faster, it was not the first time that week she had almost wished she was a Firebender. The soft clank of the door being unlocked caught her attention, she quickly folded the parchment, with little regard for whether or not it had dried, and hid it behind her belt.

She covered the ink well with her blanket and sat back just before the door opened and Keahi stepped in.

"Keahi," she said coldly, barely making an effort to contain her dislike, "what a surprise." She did not smile.

Neither did Keahi, "Earthbender." He addressed her calmly, never giving her the distinction of having a name, "I have your first payment." His mouth twitched upward into a smirk when he saw the brief look of shock cross her face, "Congratulations." He dropped the pouch, it landed on the ground with a soft 'clink' of coins.

Kaia tried very hard to look unaffected, but a look of mild surprise managed to find its way onto her mask. The Fire Nation had actually kept up on part of their bargain. Keahi placed the day's rations on the bench and walked out of the cart, closing the door hurriedly behind him as though it was the last place on earth that he had wanted to be.

Kaia finally let loose of her tight expression and smiled, stopping just short of a laugh. The Fire Nation had actually paid her. It was one of the few parts of their deal that they had kept. So far, she had only trained, been fed, and received medical attention. She had still not been treated as a soldier, but if she had just been paid that might be about to change.

She pulled the parchment from her pocket, and was pleased to see that the ink had not been disturbed by too much. She ripped the paper in half, taking the part that had not been written on to write a second letter. Her decoy.

She groggily flipped up the blanket and pulled the inkwell forward once more, drawing the brush out as she did so. It was to be a short letter to her 'Mother'. Zhi had said he would send one out in this fashion, and it would be her decoy.

She carelessly wrote some drabble about being safe and well, wonderful treatment and surprisingly kind and wonderful people: something that would obviously never be believed back in her home village. Kaia looked at the letter and shook her head, such a load of hogmonkey. It would pass any inspection given by the Fire Nation. Even those heartless people couldn't deny sending this. She knew she wouldn't have been able to.

Now to enclose the money. She reached forward again and picked up the pouch containing her first pay. It was heavier than she had expected, examining its contents she found it to contain a few silver pieces, as well as the expected copper ones. She pulled out two silver coins and a few copper pieces, a good amount to send to her 'mother'.

"Let's see…" she muttered to herself, and pulled out her old burned clothes. She ripped off another piece of the fabric and tied the money up inside it, "Perfect." She yawned. The cart suddenly lurched to life, Kaia jolted forward, bracing herself against the metal slab, and slowly eased herself down. She hadn't slept since before training, and was tired and aching.

She stretched out on the floor of the cell-on-wheels as the box kicked to life. She could feel every turn of the wheels as it slowly creeped forward. Today was the first day that she was glad she was not walking outside with the rest of the Army. She closed her eyes, letting the bumps of the wheels take her off to sleep.

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The past few days had taken a physical toll on Kaia. Even without Ryuji to keep her occupied, she had still managed to take a few training blows. The majority of them, surprisingly, had come from Zakai.

She had laughed inwardly at first when he had walked up to her and thrown the staff at her, but was surprised by his lightning fast movements, and the way he was almost impossible to block. Zakai had knocked her on the ground a bare minute after they had started sparring, and Kaia wasn't sure if it was because Zakai was good, or she was bad.

She had bruises all over her body from being tapped with the staff. She had yet to start wearing the armor when she trained; she had been waiting until her muscles built up enough that she would be able to carry its weight. She'd picked it up a few times, and it was like moving a whole other person. She wasn't quite ready to take on that weight, she still hadn't gotten used to the idea of wearing boots.

Kaia rolled over in her sleep, her features relaxed in a way that could only be achieved in dreamless slumber.

Training with Firebenders certainly wasn't like training at home. At home she had no deadline; at home the key was patience; at home, she was the defender. Firebenders were attackers; Firebenders hit first. Firebenders wore boots, and Firebenders struck to kill. But, they were so organized. Everything had a purpose or a reason within the chaos of the camp.

It was all so apparent to Kaia, but none of those thoughts even touched her mind as it was lost in the dark of her quiet, undisturbed, sleep.

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It's too bad that sleep never lasted long for those who desired it.

The sun was still quite high in the sky when the Fire Nation Army came to a grinding halt. They had finally reached the Earth Kingdom village, today the soldiers would get a chance to stretch their legs in a manner other than moving from town to town. For the first time in a long while, they would restock themselves, and perhaps pick up a trinket or two to send back home to the Fire Nation.

Small groups of soldiers were selected by lottery to decide who would go into town on what day, and it was just Keahi's good fortune to be drawn as part of the first four squads of men. All of the men had been notified, and they were as excited as they permitted themselves to show.

Hakan started jabbering immediately and had practically jumped straight into his civilian clothes, Ryuji had blinked and given him an approving look, whereas Zakai had merely looked excited. Keahi, however, would not allow anything more from himself other than the hint of a smile. The only person left of his group that he needed to inform was the Earthbender. What was her name? Niyati.

He had had half a mind to let sleeping dogs lie, and just let her sleep, but Zhi seemed to think that the Earthbender needed to be included in the small little outing, as did Captain Sheng.

That was the only reason he stood outside of the cart, keys in hand, opening up the door to wake the girl up. "Get up." He banged on the door as he opened it, "Or you'll be left." He added irritably.

The Earthbender rolled over and squinted at him. She had been sleeping. "Sun's still up…" she muttered, clearly she hadn't had enough time to think of a smart response.

"I'm glad your eyes work." Keahi commented dryly, "Here." He threw some red fabric at her, "These are on loan to you. Be ready by the time I come back, or you'll be left." He slammed the metal door and walked off to hunt down the rest of his men.

That hadn't been as bad as he'd thought.

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Kaia pulled the red fabric off of her head, where it had landed after Keahi had thrown it at her, and looked at it. It seemed to be a tunic of some sort, she groaned. Where was it exactly that they were going that she'd care about missing? She fell back against the metal of the cart and stared at the blank ceiling.

The thought of spending another whole day in the metal box drifted into her tired mind, and suddenly she was filled with vigor, or at least a bit more energy than she had previously felt capable of. She stood up, wishing vaguely that she had used some of that time to sleep, and held out the tunic.

"Red." She commented to herself, it was always red. She took a fast glance out the window and then changed, slightly surprised at how much smaller the tunic was in comparison to the bulky uniform. "Must be Zakai's." she muttered to herself, changing from the grey pants to the other pair that had been thrown at her.

Her hair was already up. It stayed up perpetually, especially since she had joined the Fire Nation Army.

The knock came at the door, and she was ready to leave.

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Kaia was surprised to find that not only were they actually going into the village, but she would also be allowed just as much freedom there as the Fire Nation soldiers enjoyed. The soil of the Earth Kingdom felt so sweet and fresh beneath her feet, it felt free of the Fire Nation impurities, like smoke, ash, and soot.

Her heart reveled in the sight of the village. The wooden buildings laid over in mud brick, the thatched roofs, the greens, yellows and browns that wove their way through the town. In short, this town was thriving. It was more along the lines of a city than anything else. There were shops selling multitudes of things, from knick knacks only fools and rich men would buy, to more practical trade goods, clothing, finery, instruments, fish, and cabbages.

The five of them moved in a loose red clump, sticking out like a nail in a soft pillow, as the crowds of Earth Kingdom citizens moved away from them.

The four men didn't seem to notice at all. Hakan kept up his constant commentary of the city, "Hey, isn't that the cabbage man from that last city? Do you think those fish are fresh? I think they'll be better once we get closer in to port. Sure is a nice day outside…"

Keahi and Ryuji kept their own stony silence, each with their own particular expression. Keahi was all business, and Ryuji wore his own perpetual scowl. Zakai was quiet, but he was always quiet, nothing new there. But, the boy had almost a look of contemplation, like he was examining everything his eyes touched, in a disturbing calculating manner.

Kaia hardly noticed the treatment the crowds gave them. The stench of the Fire Nation camp was so far behind them. In fact, only a very small number of soldiers were allowed inside the city at a time. This town had yet to be overrun, as Hakan had mentioned somewhere in his monologue. That sheer fact alone was almost enough to keep Kaia from remembering that she was a part of the Fire Nation Army.

Almost, however, was never exactly good enough.

"Fire Nation FILTH!" a young man's voice pierced through the hustle of the crowds.

"SCUM!" another voice shot through the air, pulling Kaia out of her state of contentment.

A large rock whizzed through the air, just outside of Kaia's vision. The soldiers scattered, but Kaia spun, throwing her hand up in the air, and stopped it. She felt the silence growing around her as she set the piece down on the ground, feeling more and more aware of her own breathing.

It was so quiet, Kaia could hear the sound of the rock as it settled on the ground. The next few seconds passed like an eternity as the crowd of her green clad kinsmen tried to decide what she was. She looked up, and met the green eyes of a man in the crowd. The man's face was white, his expression of shock, but when their eyes met his mouth drew into a snarl.

"Traitor!" he yelled.

Catcalls rose from the crowd. Kaia did not look back at the other men who had been with her, but kept her gaze pinned on the man who had started it. He was every inch an Earth citizen. Brown hair, green eyes, lean sinewy frame, slight build, a blind man could recognize it in him. Why couldn't he see it in her?

Furry rose inside of her the likes of which she had not felt before. Without a word, she sprung after him, the energy exploding within her like a fire. The man must have noticed, because he turned on his heel and ran, and Kaia was hot on his tail. He shoved people out of the way as he darted through the easily parting crowd, while Kaia had to convince the unwilling in a more barbaric manner.

She finally broke free of the crowd and turned after him. Kaia thought through her situation, she had no conceivable advantage. He knew the territory better than she did, and he had a head start. The sun beat down on her as she pushed her way past more pedestrians, and accidentally caused the collapse of the cabbage cart.

The brown haired man looked back, and Kaia saw his face, lean and drawn tight. This man was a rebel, a fighter just like her. They were fighting for the same cause. Why couldn't he see that? The fire that had started burning within Kaia fanned into a bright flame, and she gained on him.

He might know the territory better, but she would not stand for it. She was no Fire Nation soldier. She was an Earth Kingdom rebel. She was an Earthbender. That's exactly what she was. She scolded herself for not remembering that sooner.

With a yell, she thrust her hand forward and grabbed the air, forcing the earth to bend to her will, and pulled it up. The man in front of her skidded to a halt, trying desperately to turn another direction and outrun her.

Kaia lunged and ploughed the man down, letting the earth fall back to its original place as she forced the man to the ground.

He fell on his back, but was not beaten back so easily. He rolled Kaia over, struggling every step of the way to land a punch, and Kaia fought back. She was taking the offensive in taking this man down. The two grappled, both scratching and hitting. The man managed to thrown out a straight punch, but Kaia grabbed his arm and forced him down.

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"After her." Keahi commanded quietly, but the entire group had already taken off. They couldn't let the Earthbender get away from them, not in the middle of an Earth Kingdom city. They might lose it, and have to find and train another. It would be too much trouble.

It was just easier to track down the one they'd already had trained.

They pushed their way through the less than willing group, just feet behind the Earthbender at first, but when they finally broke through the crowd, the Earthbender had vanished, and all that was left to follow was the trail of upset carts along the way.

"My cabbages!" a cart owner wailed, the green vegetables lay strewn over the streets, "My cabbages!"

"She went that way." Hakan stated the obvious and took off running, it hadn't occurred to any of them that Kaia was not running away from them, so much as she was running after that man. The thought that she might have been insulted enough to take offense had not crossed Keahi's mind. He was more worried about her running off with that Earth Kingdom scum and leaving them without a tool.

Soon, they could hear the sounds of struggle in the air. The earth shook, the Earthbender was bending, and it was fighting.

The group rounded the corner just as it had successfully managed to pin the peasant to the ground.

"She's taken the offensive." Zakai muttered, his pupils contracting in sudden thought.

"Get her off of him." Keahi growled.

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For the second time in recent memory, Kaia found herself being roughly torn from her object of aggression.

"Niyati!" a voice rang in her ear, but could not penetrate the sheer anger she felt right now.

"Let me go!" she snarled, her usually deep voice was considerably higher pitched in her moment of anger, "Let go of me!"

The man on the ground rolled up, "What's the matter? Fire Nation soldiers can't handle a lousy peasant? Have to hire a mercenary to do it for them?" his voice was weak, but he was standing, "How much did they buy you for, Earthbender?" he yelled, his voice growing stronger, "How much did it take for you to sell out your village?" he screamed at her.

Kaia lurched forward, straining against the men holding her back, taking a swing at mid air. Her eyes bored holes into the man's head. The hand on her arm squeezed tightly, and a deep, strong voice lifted itself quietly into her ear.

"Let it go, Niyati." She felt Ryuji's giant hands on her shoulders pulling her back the few inches she'd gained against the other two.

The tension in Kaia's body lessened a bit, she knew Ryuji could take her down easily, and wouldn't hesitate to do so. Her glare remained constant as she jerked her arms free and stood on her own, "Never," she hissed, walking carefully towards the man, "Never," she repeated, her voice grew stronger. She was barely six inches away from him. She couldn't resist the temptation. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down to meet her face, "Do not ever confuse me with one of them." That said, she threw him on the ground and stalked off, breaking through the group of Fire Nation soldiers, and headed off to the city entrance.

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"She took the offensive." Zakai muttered again, "She expressed…rage." His face held an irritatingly satisfied smirk.

Ryuji looked at Zakai and, instead of shutting him up, nodded, "Niyati fought like one of us. No pulling back. She wanted to hurt that man." He agreed, shoving a man out of the way as they pushed their way back through the crowd to the entrance.

Hakan looked worried, "Niyati looks like one of us, her own people thought she was one of us, and now she fights like one of us." He shook his head, his eyes met Keahi's, and the man didn't need to say it, because the entire group thought it.

"The Earthbender will never be one of us." Keahi would always speak the truth of a situation, "The Earthbender is a tool, to be discarded after its use or its failure to operate."

He paused, "Ryuji, I want you to take the Earthbender back to hand to hand again. I think it's time to train harder. Hakan, move to the most advanced training, and do not hold back." He paused, "Zakai, keep the Earthbender agile, do not let it stop thinking."

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Kaia made it to the edge of the city, and looked back. She felt her fingers curl into fists at her sides. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she did not belong in that city. She did not belong in that camp. But where else was there?

She suddenly became aware of something warm on her face starting to grow cold. She carefully put a hand to her temple and touched the sticky liquid. Blood. Red blood. She turned her back to the village and ran towards the Fire Nation camp. Red, it was always red. Red tents, red blood, red uniforms, red flags, red sashes, red fire, red was everywhere.

She put a hand to her face as she ran, feeling something warm touch her cheeks. She ran faster, the fire that had burned inside of her before was gone, but she had to get back to the camp. The wet that leaked down her face now as not blood.

She saw the campground in the distance, the red tents were easy to spot through the green of the forest. It stood out against the landscape just like she did in a group of Earth Kingdom citizens: an ugly red spot in the middle of a green pattern.

Kaia found her way quickly through the camp and to her cell. It was her place among the Fire Nation. She was their prisoner and their soldier, just like she was an Earth Kingdom rebel and traitor.

She was relieved to find her cell unlocked. She flew inside it and started tearing the horrible red clothing off. The longer she wore it, the more it burned her. She dug through the folds of her blanket and found what remained of her burned Earth Kingdom clothing and put it on.

She pushed everything to do with the Fire Nation to the far side of the cell, wanting to be as far away from it as possible, and at the same time she was not able to rid herself of it. She pulled her hair down, letting it fall down around her face.

She was Kaia of the Earth Kingdom, a rebel and an Earthbender. She would never be a Fire Nation soldier. She would never be one of them. Never. Never.

"Never…" she breathed, and in a few moments, she was asleep.

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The letter she had written to Boaz was now in the possession of the man Kaia had attacked in the city. Kaia was right; he had been a rebel, an opposition to the Fire Nation, one of many. He had picked up the letter after their fight. It had been sitting their on the ground, presumably having fallen from the Earthbender's tunic.

The man picked it up and read it, letting it pass through his mind without more than a second thought.

Another letter to never be delivered.


	7. Rain

Kaia had spent the following days breaking herself of any habit she might have picked up traveling with the Fire Nation. Her display at the Earth Kingdom village had quickly opened her eyes to what she was becoming, and no part of her wanted that. She in no way was going back on what she had said she would do. She would fight Ozai, but she would fight him as an Earth Kingdom Rebel, not a Fire Nation soldier.

Kaia had dedicated her time in the cell on wheels to practicing the bending art; the movements alone were enough to help her maintain that which she did not want to lose: the feeling of being an Earthbender. When she had attacked, she no longer used the word 'fought' describing that day, that man in the village she had moved the earth too quickly. She had not used control.

Kaia inhaled, letting the sooty air swirl into her body. She focused, the breath becoming energy, energy that extended to the far reaches of her body. Her fingers tingled. The raw energy begging to be set free; she encased it. The power she felt in her fingers slowly built up through the rest of her body; that power could easily be released in one shot into a small earthquake beneath the Fire Army's feet, but this was an exercise of control. She brought her arms down, exhaling softly, expelling the energy back into her surroundings, back where it had come from. She opened her eyes and began the process again.

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"Sir, you requested my presence?" Keahi stood once again before Captain Sheng in the large war tent.

The captain looked up from where he sat, slowly shifting the papers in his hands out of view, "Yes. Keahi, what is the progress of the Earthbender?" he asked softly, his dark eyes looked sharp beneath his heavy brow.

Keahi looked once over his shoulder, as he always did whenever the subject of the Earthbender was brought up, and then back at Captain Sheng, "She is progressing well. She is a quick study - proficient with unconventional weapons, and becoming that way with the others."

"I had expected as much." he nodded, silently studying the floor, "Will the Earthbender pass as a soldier?"

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Kaia gripped her sword, her bare feet holding tightly to the cold floor as she passed through her stances. Each movement had to be connected. The art of the sword was clearly a Fire Nation art. The smooth connectivity punctuated with sharp bursts of attacks, but always pursuant.

Practicing such an art in an enclosed space was difficult because Kaia did not have the room necessary for the skillful arcs that the other soldiers practiced, but it gave her an advantage, because she did not have to take the time to create those arcs. Her movements were abrupt and powerful.

The light coming through the small window in her cell was beginning to fade even though it was just past noon. Kaia paused in her drills and stepped over to the window, her eyes focusing on the black clouds quietly rushing across the skies, blocking out the sun and the constant grey haze that surrounded the convoy.

A different smell filled the air. A small smile momentarily graced Kaia's lips. The scent was damp, like the coming of rain. It didn't occur to her whether or not the oncoming weather would affect her training or their travel over the next few days, but the smell of wet was a nice change.

Anything to rid her of the horrible stench of smoke.

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"Absolutely not, Keahi." Ryuji objected, turning away from his friend and leader, "Who does Sheng think he is? We can't let the Earthbender think that it's one of us!"

Keahi sat himself down on a nearby boulder, glaring in exasperation at the clouding sky, "The Earthbender has to pass as a Fire Nation soldier. After what happened in the village it's been twice as hard for us to get anything done. She refuses to wear the armor or the shoes." He sighed as the rain that had begun to fall slowly dripped through the canopy of trees.

Zakai looked up, "It should be no surprise." he said calmly, "Her own people did not recognize her. She does not want to be one of us, and it is clear the feeling is reciprocated."

Ryuji glared, this was why he didn't like the boy talking. "The Earthbender is a tool, and nothing more. We all know that."

Hakan shook his head, "That may be the case, but if Niyati's going to pass as one of us, she should feel more accepted. We only have a few more weeks, and I don't care if she can best all of us at the same time, if she can't fool the palace guards into believing her to be a Fire Nation citizen than it's over."

"Hakan's right." Zakai agreed, "So is the Captain."

Droplets of water slowly began to collect in pools around the soldiers' feet, sliding down their faces and uniforms in strange small rivers. Ryuji growled at the discomfort the water afforded him, he opened his mouth in preparation to scold Zakai.

Hakan sighed, "This rain isn't going to let up. I'll go get Niy…the Earthbender."

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Niyati had just placed her sword on the floor of her cell when Hakan opened the door. As usual, she masked her distaste for the Fire Nation in a stoic look of indifference toward the boy. "It's early." She commented dryly, glancing briefly past his head.

Hakan nodded, "Rain." he responded quietly.

When Niyati tried to leave her cell, Hakan stopped her, "You'll need your armor tonight."

She looked at him curiously then turned around to climb back in. Hakan followed, "You'll need help."

The armor lay in a heap in what seemed to be a little used corner of the cell, untouched since she had first tried it on the first time. The bulky mass of red and black in the corner was to be Niyati's test that night. She would have to be able to move wearing the armor just as naturally as she did in the burlap she wore back in her village.

She began to dig through it, Hakan observing behind her, growing more and more certain that Niyati had not even attempted to put the uniform on in its entirety. She grimaced distastefully, "I suppose I'll have to wear the boots, won't I?"

Hakan nodded, "Have you even tried it on?" he asked, kneeling down beside her. He pulled out the shin guards, a small piece of a uniform that was possibly twice the size of its new bearer.

"Once." She paused, seeming to consider a question for a moment before slipping back into the same moody silence that she had maintained since their departure of the Earth city.

Hakan smiled inwardly as he stood, preparing to help her into the armor. Over the next half hour, he showed her how to tie on the different pieces of armor, where the pieces should fit and hold against the body, and the better places to stow extra weapons or other stings. It amused him that even though the suit was made to fit a man around her size that some of the pieces were either too large or too small, depending on the area. This would need to be remedied, if the suit was worn properly, it would be much easier to move in than if it was too loose or too tight. One way and the suit would fall off or shift, the other way and the suit would constrict and the wearer would pass out.

He handed her the last bit, allowing Niyati to place the strange helmet onto her head. Niyati obviously was not pleased by this turn of events, but Hakan seemed to approve. At least she was starting to hold herself more like a soldier instead of a citizen.

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Ryuji scoffed as he saw Zakai and the Earthbender approaching from beyond the clearing. "What is this, some kind of joke?" he laughed.

Keahi raised his eyebrows a bit, "The Earthbender remembered the boots this time."

"It's only because Zakai helped."

Zakai rolled his eyes at the other two, but nodded in agreement. Niyati did seem rather awkward in her uniform, but it was not as though the others had not been there before. It was rather bulky for the first time.

"We should teach her how to walk before we teach her how to fight." He observed cautiously.

"We don't have time." Ryuji glared at the two as they got closer, "We have less than two weeks." He drew his sword, the glint in his eyes mimicked the gleam of the rainwater on the blade.

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Hakan would have given anything to slow the walk down as Ryuji drew his sword, but the reaction that movement elicited in Niyati was exactly the opposite. Her eyes hardened and her pace quickened, even as she stumbled in the heavy unfamiliar uniform. The original training was not supposed to be an all out fight between the two, but he had no doubt that is what it would be.

He glared across the field at Ryuji, who held an advantage in his own way. He was used to his uniform, having had a much longer time to walk around in it. It was his second skin, just like the rest of them.

He did not understand why the others had not taken his advice and placed Niyati against Zakai in the first place. In her current state of inexperience Ryuji would ultimately be the victor, and they might lose more time in training.

In less time than he had hoped, the reached the center of the field.

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"I thought you only taught hand to hand." She hissed to Ryuji, completely ignoring the rest of them.

In the past few days, the two of them had sparred only with bare hands only and most certainly without bending. Their fights had been nothing less than spirited, and almost always ended with one or both of them bruised and battered.

"I have many talents." He growled back. They always started with banter. It wasn't tradition, but more of a test to see who would lose their cool first. They could stand there for hours or mere seconds.

"Pity that none of them are worth anything." She had become more hostile over the past few days as a result, "So, what is it tonight? Your rules." She never broke eye contact with him, keeping his eyes locked with her intense gaze.

"You want rules tonight?" the others had backed away from them almost instantly, whatever it was that fueled the hate between them was not something that should be witnessed in close range, "You, me and whatever comes in handy."

Kaia smiled a vicious grin, "Then what are we waiting for?" she shifted in her bulky armor, but managed to mask her discomfort as well as she did anything else.

The rain that had at first dripped from the skies began to sprinkle. The droplets now forming on their motionless suits, the beads that clung to their poised swords began to quiver with built up energy and trickle, leaving crystalline trails in their passing.

Kaia inhaled through her nose, smelling the beginnings of damp soil beneath her booted feet, her eyes never left Ryuji's, she held her ground still - another part of their ritualistic dance, the wait.

In a flash, Kaia's sword moved from it's poised position and lashed out at Ryuji, a direct attack aimed to decapitate. Ryuji countered, and Kaia suddenly felt that this match would be far more difficult than previously imagined.

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Hakan grimaced as the sound of swords clashing finally sounded across the clearing.

"It's about time." Keahi remarked coolly, the only reason he could find for not liking it when Ryuji and the Earthbender fought was that it took far too long to begin. After that the fights were usually a great learning experience for anyone involved.

He was looking forward to the day when he would get to fight her.

The Earthbender reeled back from Ryuji's blows with the sword, her movements were not as smooth as they usually were, and she was slower – much slower.

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The swords slipped in the rain, even though neither weapon was still long enough to gather more than a few passing drops, the water between the steel was just enough to add an element of unpredictability to the match. A few times a sword would slip upwards when anyone could have seen that it clearly should have run down.

Ryuji managed to land a few heavy blows around Niyati's shoulders and upper arms - blows that would have been detrimental had she not been wearing her armor.

Zakai was amazed the neither of them had started bending yet. Each wielded a sufficient advantage in the given situation. Niyati was perfectly capable of hardening the ground beneath her feet and Ryuji could have easily heated his body and sword enough to evaporate the rain. It must have been a side effect of fighting that most people stop thinking and merely go on instinct.

It was not long after that Kaia hit the ground, usually signaling the end of a match, but not tonight. Ryuji ran forward, prepared to deliver what most certainly would have been the final blow dealt that night. Kaia reached out, instinctively delivering what would later be considered as the first show of Earth Bending that night.

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The instant Kaia felt her body connect with the wet dirt it was as though she had just found the one weapon she had forgotten. The instant before Ryuji drove his sword downward, she reached out with her free hand, grabbing the soil beneath his feet and ploughed him back more than fifty paces.

Despite the fact that Ryuji had been jettisoned away from his target and covered in mud, he made his recovered and shot his own flame back at where Kaia was having difficulty removing herself from the ground.

To Kaia's great delight, the flame which certainly would have reached her otherwise, had been partially extinguished by the falling rain. Instead of receiving a burn, she merely felt the warmth of the flame.

The armor, despite having been fitted by Hakan, had already begun to shift and constrict in the beginnings of a downpour.

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The harder the rain fell, the harder it was to see what was happening in the clearing. The battling forms of the Earthbender and Ryuji could scarcely be made out through the oncoming darkness and thick rainfall.

Every now and then a particularly loud clash of metal broke above the roar of the rain, or a flash of flame would extend beyond one of the parties and illuminate the area for a brief moment. The rain had made it an even match. The armor, made of leather and metal, was constricting on both of them, slowing each of them by the same factor.

Lightning and thunder soon filled the remaining silence in the clearing.

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"What's the matter, Ryuji?" Kaia challenged, squinting to find his form in the downpour, "Firebender can't handle a little rain?" she stumbled in armor as she tried another failed attempt to block his fist. Swords had been abandoned for the more conventional methods, they had become too unwieldy the harder the rain fell.

Even fighting with fists had become difficult, but neither of them was about to surrender. The constriction of the leather had shortened the lengths of both their arms, and the fighting had become all about close quarters and indeterminate distances.

Ryuji disappeared from her view again, and Kaia took that moment to wipe the hair that had plastered itself to her face away from her eyes.

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Another burst of flame forced its way through the rain, followed by the distinct sounds of something hard hitting the mud.

"Over there!" Zakai called over the downpour.

The remaining three had been attempting to call halt to this match for quite some time now, but had been unable to determine where the two had taken their battle. Lightning lit the skies again, followed shortly by the sound of thunder.

Keahi let out a loud cry of concentrated energy, and lit the sky with his own flame. Zakai stared in wonder for a moment, the flame arced from the bender's hands and remained in the skies just long enough to create an evaporating shield from the rain.

Hakan could clearly see Ryuji and Niyati locked in the final stages of hand to hand, "HOLD!" he bellowed, just before the flame Keahi had created disappeared.

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When Kaia returned to her cell, she was bruised, bloody, wet and tired. She barely had time to remove the smelling wet armor before her body gave itself over to the lulling sound of rain and the fatigue inhabiting her mind and body.

Kaia collapsed on the floor of her cell, still wet, and passed out.

**A/N - Another apology. I'll make the next chapter worth it.**


	8. An Empty Dream

"What are you doing Kaia?" an unusual smile crossed the young Earthbender's face when he had discovered Kaia hiding in the woods again.

The woods were lush and green; the marks of the Fire Nation had only just started to appear in the peaceful town of Nishimura.

Kaia turned around, "Baba!" dropping the earth she had been moving, and throwing her arms around her father.

"What are you doing, Kaia?" he asked again, brushing her hair out of her face, "After everything I've told you, why are you out here? It's dangerous." The sun was bright on his face, his green eyes shone in what was his youth.

"Oh Baba, you're always worrying." She tilted her head, smiling up at him, "We're safe here."

The smile on her father's face faded, "Not for long, Kaia. Come, let's go home." But when he reached to take her hand, Kaia pulled away.

"I can't Baba." She whispered, rolling over in her sleep, "Not yet…"

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Kaia awoke sharply. Her hand was stretched in front of her as though she had been trying to grasp something no longer there. It wasn't the first time her father had come to visit her in her dreams. He always asked the same question, "What are you doing, Kaia?"

She laid back on the cold metal floor of her cell on wheels, it was noon, even though she could not see the sun in the sky through the clouds she could not mistake the way the heat permeated the walls of her cell.

The rain had lasted for a long time, it had finally let up today. But, just because it was raining had not been an excuse to stop training. In fact, Kaia was quite certain that she could have been dead, and Keahi would still insist on training her. Thus far she had sustained only minor injuries, nothing too serious. Mostly just bruises, though there were a few cuts and small burns in the few places the armor did not protect. Kaia was beginning to learn the flaws of the armor, and the best ways to take advantage of each of them.

Zakai and Hakan had begun coming into her cell during the day pointing different things out. Zakai was schooling her in the subtle ways the Firebender worked, and highlighted the simple ways in which she, as an Earthbender, held an advantage as well as a disadvantage. Things she had an elemental knack for, according to Zakai, were things like patience and pacing, and the things she needed to work out of her system was her constant habit of drawing the fight out longer than it should actually take. Her mission was to be quick, she would not only need the resilience of her background but also the strength.

Hakan would point out flaws in the armor, slight hand movements that could disarm opponents, and occasional idle drabble. She did not quite understand him, but it was her opinion that he liked to hear himself talk.

She sat up and leaned her head against the familiar metal of the walls. Admittedly, if she had been kept in that cell she would have driven herself mad by now. It was enough of a bother being told that she was a soldier while she was still a prisoner, but to be a prison with no external influence at all would be a fate worse than death to Kaia.

She never did find out what it was Captain Sheng would have done to her had she refused to be a part of this seemingly futile errand, but it was becoming clearer that keeping her in this cell just might have been enough.

The long uninterrupted calm, like most normal things without interest, was about to be broken in a most unusual way.

Kaia sighed and stood, only to be jolted back to the ground. The sudden stop of the cell on wheels coincided almost immediately with the loud high pitched cries coming from just in front of the cell.

Kaia jumped to her feet, pressing herself against the door of her cell, desperate to be able to glimpse the action that was taking what felt like it was just beyond the field of her vision. Soldiers ran past her cell without a second glance, drawing their weapons as they went. In the background she could hear shouts and yells, even through that she could hear the protruding sounds of multiple arrows being fired.

A Rebel attack!

Kaia grasped the bars of her window, her heart collapsed into the pit of her stomach and anxiety took over. They were far enough in the back country for the rebel groups to be out. She had had minimal contact with other groups over the years, through her father and other leaders of her village.

At the same time that she was worried for their safety, she also found part of her wondering about the safety of those few members of the Fire Nation Army. Whether she liked it or not, Kaia had just found herself caught in the middle of the strangest and most feared predicament. What if…?

The clang of metal on metal sounded harshly on her ears. Her mouth dried at the smell of smoke. Her fingernails buried themselves in her palms as she heard chunks of soil being ripped from the earth, only to rejoin but a few moments later. The sound of Earthbending ate at her core, she grasped at the air with her fists, straining to feel the earth beneath her cell.

But, as suddenly as the noise and commotion began, it dissolved almost as fast. In all, the confrontation had lasted a bare five minutes. Kaia could hear the sounds of trees and brush being pushed aside as the rebels fled. She gripped the bars tighter, it had been in this very manner that she had been taken.

She bit her lip, feeling the same fear now that she had felt then. Smoke filled her lungs as the soldiers ran into the forest after the rebels, burning everything as they went. The rebels would go to a prearranged spot and hide. Those who were being followed would do their best to stay out of enemy hands. It was almost a protocol. It would go right, or it would go wrong.

The day she had been caught, it had obviously gone wrong.

She looked back at the sky through the bars of her cell. Clouds weren't the only thing blocking the sun.

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Hakan sprinted back away from the fight, breathing hard as he headed back towards Niyati's cell. He knew no more of what was going on than any of the other soldiers. His orders were simple. 'Clear out the cell. NOW!'

He reached the cell only to find Niyati firmly attatched to the cell door. "Niyati!" he called up to her.

She quickly let go of the bars, "What?" the heat of the battle had made her dark eyes intense.

"Nothing." He winced at the blatant lie, "Actually, Captain Sheng thinks that it's time for you to take your place among the rest of us." He smiled faintly, only to receive a skeptical look from Niyati.

She sighed, folding her hands outside of the bars for a moment, "Of course." She breathed, keeping her thoughts always to herself. "Of course." Her tone asked the question for her. Did he really think she was stupid? Niyati disappeared back behind the cell door.

If Hakan had not been flushed from the fight, being caught in a blatant lie would have made him about the same color.

"Going to unlock the door?"

Hakan fumbled the key, muttering some half formed apology under his breath, and opened up the door.

Niyati climbed out of the cell, everything that had been in there with her had been folded into the red blanket, which now found itself in a rather comfortable position in the middle of her back. "What happened?" she asked somewhat unenthusiastically, making sure to keep the soldier at an arm's distance.

"I really don't know. We were attacked by a group of green dev… rebels. Keahi found me and told me that it was passed, and that you could take your leave of the cell."

Niyati gave him a searching look, and seemed to accept the explanation. She could sense something else was going on besides what he had been telling her.

"I don't know anything else. Honest." He met her eyes for a moment.

"How long are they going to chase them?" she asked calmly, her mask maintaining the same expressionless appearance that it almost always held.

Hakan shook his head, "We probably won't move any more today. Five miles maximum every time something like this happens." He paused, assuming a more businesslike tone, "Rebels don't usually attack more than once in a specific area." He shrugged, it made more sense to him to attack twice while the enemy was weakened and confused.

Niyati looked at him for a moment, indifferent façade burying the mischievous smile beneath her skin, "You don't leave much cover for them." She paused, "That would be the point of burning everything." She shook her head, and drifted off for a moment.

Hakan puzzled over her for a moment, but then he gave up on it and reverted to simply following his orders. The cell had been cleared out.

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Kaia's thoughts were off in the distance as she was lead on a long backtrack through the chaos of the camp. She glanced off to the side, bright red tents had already begun to rise out of the ground in the middle of the burned clearing.

It was a clever move on the part of Captain Sheng, Kaia mused, despite the fact that she now had almost unlimited access to multiple points in the camp, she would have almost no time to herself, leaving no time at all for any other attempts at getting a message to anyone else. She would also be forced to fight for the Fire Nation Army the next time a group of rebels attacked.

Kaia felt like she was experiencing a very strange version of déjà vu, she felt her mind wander back of its own accord for a few moments before she forcibly dragged it back into her present state. Something was definitely going on that they had not been expecting to happen. There were ways that she could find out besides simply asking the others.

"Have you seen Zhi yet?" Hakan's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"No, I haven't."

"You really should. You've really taken a beating the past couple of days." He smiled weakly, "Even with the armor."

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Kaia recognized the tent before they had even gotten there. The medic tent had been set up first, as it seemed was a common tradition in the camp. Kaia did not know if it would be busy or not, seeing as they had just come out of a rebel attack, but she was surprised to see that the tent was practically deserted.

"Zhi!" Hakan called cautiously, receiving no answer, he tried again, "ZHI!" Unfortunately, he was a bit over zealous in his attempt to get the medic's attention.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" the old man's voice came quietly from inside, "This isn't the galley Hakan, you needn't be so loud." He muttered irritably as he emerged from the inside of the tent. "You're like to blow the ears off of a deaf man."

"Sorry Zhi, no deaf men today." Hakan smiled a bit, "It's Niyati."

"What have you done to her now?" Zhi demanded, rounding the corner, "Ah! Kaia! You're standing!" he said excitedly, "You sent Ryuji to me recently. I did have a little chuckle over that. So, what's wrong with you now? You certainly look better than the last time I saw you! A few bumps and bruises, but no worse for the wear I can see."

"Well Zhi, Niyati here's been through some rough training over the last few days, and I thought since were stopping that it would be a good idea to let you check her over."

Zhi nodded, "Yes, yes, yes. Alright. Go on inside Kaia. I don't think this will take long at all."

Kaia nodded and went inside the tent, though instead of waiting patiently on the table, she stayed just near enough the tent flap to hear what was going on outside.

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"Alright, Hakan. What's going on out there?" the old man asked, his usually calm black eyes casting a pointed gaze, "We are stopping far earlier than usual." He chuckled, "You have to wake up pretty early to fool this old mind."

Hakan sighed, casting a glance over his shoulder, "Earth Kingdom Rebels." His breathing had slowed to a normal rate, "No injuries on our part, but we're trying to clear the road ahead." His voice was a bare whisper.

"And you don't want Kaia to see?" the old man questioned him knowingly.

"Captain Sheng does not want to lose her trust."  
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Kaia moved away from the tent flap and lay back on the table.

You can't lose what you never had

She closed her eyes again, trying to recall her father's face in her mind, "What am I doing here?"

**A/N**

**To IndieHippie: I got the idea when I was listening to the Broadway Soundtrack for "The Lion King"  
Thanks to my reviewers! I got rid of my writer's block!**


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